5/11/10
I've read that one should not construct a bunker ahead of time, but rather keep the supplies needed to build one when needed.
Original Post:
Have a few firearms (especially rifles) and plenty of ammo. In the US .223 is the "standard" calibur for combat because of the large amount of highly effective 5.56mm military ammo out there. Other places the 7.62mm AK bullet seems to be standard. Keep them locked up so it's hard to get into them; only the trained and capable adults can get to them. A .50 BMG rifle can be useful for stopping cars if you are the type of family that can handle such things safely. Shotguns are good too. They don't penetrate walls and need less skill - and are more intimidating. Lots of canned foods. Stored fuels - gasoline, propane, etc. General purpose and automotive tools. How-to books. Maps of the building and immediate neighborhood. Supplies of grain are good. The Viet Cong used to put rice in hoses, fill them with water and seal them up for emergency food supplies. Get to know the people around. Learn who the tough guys and the criminals nthe neighborhood are. Learn who has weapons and their temperament. Get Radios and walky talkies and LOTS of extra batteries. Build a bunker if you can afford it in your basement. Make sure you're aware of all possible home entrances and have a habit of checking them all. Know ways to block some of them off in case you need to make the house a fort. If you own the house, you could even think about putting something on or in the walls to block bullets. Get a large rainwater cistern with two screens on top for mosquitos. The second screen is for redundancy. Have a plan for soaking down your roof in case of fire nearby, including if the water gets cut off. Keep fire hazards away. Be prepared for local disasters, e.g. earthquakes in CA, or tornadoes in Kansas. Have cash available, but know that informal cash might be more useful e.g. packs of cigarettes, containters of fuel, bags of grain, etc. Have an automobile or two that is easy to fix without all that electronic stuff. Have first aid kits and other medical supplies.
Learn how to hunt and gather in your environment. In inner city Los Angeles opportunities are plentiful though gross and risky for disease.
First, you can steal/scavenge/loot food from stores and stuff. But if desperate, there are pigeons, rats, roaches, trash cans...
*puke*
First posted by me at
http://www.playtheimmortalgame.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=128586
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
The Book of Daniel
I spent quite a bit of time analyzing most of the Book of Daniel. Here is my first post and the link to the thread:
http://www.playtheimmortalgame.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=20620
One of the pieces of evidence which powerfully supports a scientific hypothesis is whether or not it can allow a person to predict some aspect of the future. For example, the Theory of Evolution predicts that certain kinds of fossils will be found and how organisms will change with time, and gravitational theory predicts how quickly things will accelerate downward if dropped. Some people claim that the Bible has made predictions that came true and that these predictions should be taken as evidence that Christianity is a correct model of reality. Darfius wrote "For instance, if you'll look in my debate with Pawn, Daniel the prophet successfully predicted the world empires including Alexander the Great a couple of centuries before he was born."
http://www.redhotpawn.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=20450&page=2
Based on his post in the "Debate with Darfius" thread, I believe he is referring to Daniel 2, especially Daniel 31-45. Here is the text of Daniel 31-45, copied from Darfius' post:
Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
http://www.redhotpawn.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=20172&page=2
Darfius claims Daniel 2 specifically predicted "the Medo-Persian empire...the Grecian empire...Under the leadership of Alexander the Great...[and] the Roman Empire". Does this prophecy count as a scientific hypothesis which successfully made scientific predictions? I'll copy-paste Darfius' arguments here:
"Bible passage: Daniel 2:32-33
Written: about 530 BC
Fulfilled: Throughout history; to be completed during End Times
In Daniel 2:32-33, there is a passage that symbolically identified the four great kingdoms that would rise up and control much of world, beginning in Daniel's lifetime. The passage uses symbolic imagery: 1. The head of gold, as Daniel explained, refers to the Babylonian empire that ruled much of the world about 2600 years ago. 2. Daniel said that the head-of-gold empire would be followed by an empire symbolized by arms of silver. Christian scholars have often interpreted this to refer to the Medo-Persian empire which later conquered the Babylonian empire. The scholars say that the two arms refer to the two groups - the Medes and the Persians - who comprised the Medo-Persian empire. 3. The third kingdom was symbolized by the statue's belly and thighs of brass. Some scholars believe that this is a reference to the Grecian empire, which conquered the Medo-Persian empire. The symbol of a belly and thighs of brass suggests that the kingdom was to start out as a united empire but end up as a divided empire. Under the leadership of Alexander the Great, the Grecian Empire was a united empire. But after Alexander's death, the empire was divided into four parts and was later reduced to two parts. 4. The fourth symbol - that of iron legs and feet that were part iron and part clay - has often been suggested to be a reference to the Roman Empire, which later conquered the Grecian Empire. The Roman Empire was very powerful, but it was also very diverse, claiming dominion over a wide variety of different nations. That diversity later contributed to the downfall of the empire. These four kingdoms ruled over much of the world, and each of the four ruled over the land of Israel during times in which a significant number of Jews - and perhaps a majority of Jews - were living in their homeland. Before the collapse of the Roman Empire, Jerusalem was destroyed and hundreds of thousands of Jews were forced into exile. Even today, a majority of Jews still live outside of Israel. Many Christian scholars suggest that the Roman Empire will be revived and will once again seek to control Israel. Quick aside, the European Union refers to itself as the Revived Roman Empire. "
http://www.redhotpawn.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=20172&page=2
http://www.playtheimmortalgame.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=20620
http://www.playtheimmortalgame.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=20620
One of the pieces of evidence which powerfully supports a scientific hypothesis is whether or not it can allow a person to predict some aspect of the future. For example, the Theory of Evolution predicts that certain kinds of fossils will be found and how organisms will change with time, and gravitational theory predicts how quickly things will accelerate downward if dropped. Some people claim that the Bible has made predictions that came true and that these predictions should be taken as evidence that Christianity is a correct model of reality. Darfius wrote "For instance, if you'll look in my debate with Pawn, Daniel the prophet successfully predicted the world empires including Alexander the Great a couple of centuries before he was born."
http://www.redhotpawn.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=20450&page=2
Based on his post in the "Debate with Darfius" thread, I believe he is referring to Daniel 2, especially Daniel 31-45. Here is the text of Daniel 31-45, copied from Darfius' post:
Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
http://www.redhotpawn.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=20172&page=2
Darfius claims Daniel 2 specifically predicted "the Medo-Persian empire...the Grecian empire...Under the leadership of Alexander the Great...[and] the Roman Empire". Does this prophecy count as a scientific hypothesis which successfully made scientific predictions? I'll copy-paste Darfius' arguments here:
"Bible passage: Daniel 2:32-33
Written: about 530 BC
Fulfilled: Throughout history; to be completed during End Times
In Daniel 2:32-33, there is a passage that symbolically identified the four great kingdoms that would rise up and control much of world, beginning in Daniel's lifetime. The passage uses symbolic imagery: 1. The head of gold, as Daniel explained, refers to the Babylonian empire that ruled much of the world about 2600 years ago. 2. Daniel said that the head-of-gold empire would be followed by an empire symbolized by arms of silver. Christian scholars have often interpreted this to refer to the Medo-Persian empire which later conquered the Babylonian empire. The scholars say that the two arms refer to the two groups - the Medes and the Persians - who comprised the Medo-Persian empire. 3. The third kingdom was symbolized by the statue's belly and thighs of brass. Some scholars believe that this is a reference to the Grecian empire, which conquered the Medo-Persian empire. The symbol of a belly and thighs of brass suggests that the kingdom was to start out as a united empire but end up as a divided empire. Under the leadership of Alexander the Great, the Grecian Empire was a united empire. But after Alexander's death, the empire was divided into four parts and was later reduced to two parts. 4. The fourth symbol - that of iron legs and feet that were part iron and part clay - has often been suggested to be a reference to the Roman Empire, which later conquered the Grecian Empire. The Roman Empire was very powerful, but it was also very diverse, claiming dominion over a wide variety of different nations. That diversity later contributed to the downfall of the empire. These four kingdoms ruled over much of the world, and each of the four ruled over the land of Israel during times in which a significant number of Jews - and perhaps a majority of Jews - were living in their homeland. Before the collapse of the Roman Empire, Jerusalem was destroyed and hundreds of thousands of Jews were forced into exile. Even today, a majority of Jews still live outside of Israel. Many Christian scholars suggest that the Roman Empire will be revived and will once again seek to control Israel. Quick aside, the European Union refers to itself as the Revived Roman Empire. "
http://www.redhotpawn.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=20172&page=2
http://www.playtheimmortalgame.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=20620
Friday, March 26, 2010
Money, Finance, Profit, Employment Etc.
This is a catch-all post for these topics, as my other two (the Recession one and the Creditors and Debtors one) are too limited in scope for me to add to them at whim. I will probably combine them at some point.
9/21/14
Working full time at a low stress job. I keep thinking about the fact that paying debts improves my "accounting score". Understanding this makes it so much less unpleasant to pay them. I noticed the banks and automobile companies paid back the bail out money very quickly.
Construction vocabulary - water test, hot mop, lath
8/29/14
Vocabulary from the construction trade: darby, slump test, lath, joist, rafter, water weenie, GFI (Ground fault Interruptor), cold chisel, greenboard, wallboard, drywall, ReBar (Reinforcing Bar), dowel, circular saw, jigsaw,
Vocabulary for the chemistry laboratory: Erlenmeyer flask, round bottom flask, centrifuge, fume hood, graduated cylinder, volumetric flask, Büchner flask, watch glass, stirring rod, burette, dessicator, evaporation dish
Vocabulary for massage therapy: petrissage, efflurage, friction, trigger point, deep tissue, acupressure, traction
8/6/14
Paying bills, paying debts. Decrease cash assets, decrease liability.
6/12/14
I seem to have finally gotten to the point where I make enough money and have a little bit of security for the future as well. I've been focused on attaining this for 20 years. Low stress, potential for advancement, lots of personal freedom. Enough cash to get by for now.
Some financial transactions - bought a handheld video game console. My logic was that such a device is an asset, not an expenditure, and can be resold. The alternative recreational spending options, like alcohol or a massage (consumables and services), would decrease my equity while decreasing my cash assets, while this expenditure transfers some of those cash assets into property with cash value, keeping the assets and equity values higher.
Crashed into someone, minor damage. Insurance had just been cancelled for nonpayment. Got a ticket. It was a calm, civilized business transaction. I lost a chunk of money, but can go on with my life. I took it in stride. I need to pay more attention when I drive and when I pay bills. That car represents a pile of money, and every bit of damage removes - destroys some of that money from my ownership. In fact the car is not money, but it is wealth, in the strict Adam Smith sense of the word - property with financial value.
3/23/14
I haven't had internet access so I haven't been writing here. I got a pretty decent job but it's only for a few months. Summer's coming. I have to make car payments and education jobs are based on the school year. And education doesn't have such obnoxious application requirements like grocery stores. Having a science degree helps.
11/21/13
I have a few dollars. Those dollars are points. They are not just for spending, but for having. Having the dollars gives power and prestige. Having dollars gives respect. Having dollars gets you laid.
Each one is an individual with it's own serial number but they are interchangeable. They're like Roman Legionaires. They can be sacrificed for benefit or for no benefit, but it's always best to keep them as resources.
Normally I think of money as something to spend. But lately I have been reluctant to spend it. When I do spend it I keep some in reserve. Instead of spending eleven dollars I spend eight. Instead of spending three, I spend two. And it makes life so much easier.
The professional mindset is complex. You don't want to be unpleasant, but you don't want to be intrusive or wasteful of time. You do the job effectively and efficiently and interactions with the client are for that purpose.
11/20/13
The grocery store wants a LOT of information. Drug testing. Medical marijuana is a no-no. Are you in default on student loans? If you haven't paid your bills in the past, you're not allowed to pay them in the future I guess. Where have you lived in the past four years? Etc etc etc.
I just want to do work for money. Minimum wage is fine. Just let me live in dignity. Let me earn the right to pay my bills.
Anger and depression are suppressed, but they are there. What to do?
Just keep applying for work I guess. Accept rejection. It's a numbers game. Low % of success means I need to apply to more places.
Flashes of anger. Humiliation. But at least it's for a SECOND job. My first job didn't do any of this crap. I guess working in a supermarket isn't for me. What else is there?
There is always work to do. Pick up the books and put them on the shelf. Hang up the coat. Exercise. Just because I'm not being paid doesn't mean I can't work. I can also make sure my other job's paperwork is done.
11/19/13
Struggling with depression and loneliness, but it's not too bad. I am acutely aware of the fact that I don't own my home and I don't fully own my car. This bothers me.
It crossed my mind that the car itself is a sort of savings account. If I pay more money for the car, that equity remains in it. It's not like a bank savings account where I can just spend it like it was in my checking account.
I need to get a document from my insurance company to the finance company. This will reduce the amount I owe. Paper shuffling. But that's how the money game works.
11/18/13
I started an online application for a supermarket chain. They want a list of previous addresses. Do I have that information? I should, but I'm not sure.
11/15/13
I need more hours. What kind of work is available during actual work hours? Getting a position in a school is difficult.
11/12/13
I just took a MASSIVE financial hit. It was predictable but I failed to prevent it. I did not collapse in an anxiety attack, which is good. I went to sleep and followed up at the first opportunity. It's just a penalty in the game, not something to take personally. Play the game more carefully and these things won't happen. It's like any number of video games where noobs die immediately and the skilled players are cautious and aware of the dangers. Hopefully I can find a way to pay this bill.
11/6/13
My manager is talking about having me manage a nearby tutor. She has been very respectful to me, helping me speed through paperwork and orientations. I will be able to pay my car payment as well as some of what I owe for the next few months and catch up on that.
I got my first small check for 80 dollars. I took forty for personal expenses and paid forty toward my car payment. I know how to start writing this stuff down now, but I haven't actually prepared a formal notebook to do it. But I know that I used forty dollars which came out of my equity - lowering my personal "score" by forty - in order to pay for those personal expenses. The other forty, with which I partially paid my car payment, did NOT lower my "score" - it just transferred from one form of equity to another - cash to car.
I don't feel like I'm "in trouble" with my job. It's good. That feeling that I'm behind on paperwork etc is nerve wracking. This job is low stress. This is very, very good.
10/29/13
My afternoon job is up and running. I'll start being able to make some payments. Not all of them, but some. Now I need to find morning work.
Google is far too intrusive. I don't like them.
10/1/13
So now the government has been shut down. Things better get better after Democrats take the House back and the government can get back to governing.
I paid a small debt. It is good to pay debts.
There is always work to be done. I cannot allow myself to forget that.
9/26/13
I sent in my documents. I still have no job. They'll get around to giving me some work if it becomes available I guess.
Some girl stopped me in the street and asked me if I wanted a morning job. It turns out she was trying to help a Mexican guy who was selling fixed up junk appliances establish a delivery service. I did hard labor for this dude and because the customer was dissatisfied with the ghetto appliances he was provided with I did not get paid. They even had the gall to call me back to deliver another one without offering me the money they owed me.
I sent in an application with an awkward cover letter for a job that actually provides enough hopurs and benefits to live on, though the hourly pay is no better than the lower paid afterschool programs. I probably should have sent my references with the application. I've been looking up old work associates and getting references together.
LinkedIn is apparently a widely used professional Facebook/online resume service. I started an account and will be putting in more information soon. All kinds of professional coworkers and friends from past and present are on there.
The Tea Party Republicans in Congress need to GO.
9/10/13
I was offered the low paying part time position and sent documents to get ready - fingerprints, TB test - total costs ~$60-$70 which I don't have. I need to wait to ask someone else, when they can afford it, in a few days. This is how lack of "liquidity" - cash ready to spend for stuff like this - makes it hard to make money. So frustrating!!! I'm worried about being able to come up with the money I need to be allowed to work for low pay, for maybe a dozen hours a week, during the hours where work is easiest to get. Arrgh.
9/1/13
I had an interview for a fairly low paying afterschool tutoring position. If they call me back next week for another interview I will know I did well the first time.
I saw the movie The Butler. It made me reflect on the culture of class and civilization. Being civilized pays better than being barbaric.
Here's to hoping the Republicans get voted out of Congress in this next election. Their disciplined defense of the upper class - no, I don't mean lawyers and doctors, I mean Old Money - is ruining this country.
8/21/13
I've been sending out resumes and not receiving responses. I haven't signed in to this blog because I didn't want to sign out of e-mail.
I do note that the jobs offered often demand a lot from applicants. Cover letters, references up front, multiple applications, "convince us you deserve an interview" by doing large amounts of work up front just so they'll consider considering the potential employee.
I haven't been cultivating references. The whole "professional employee" game bores me. But it's based on power, and unlike when this was the Spanish Empire, I am not of the privelaged class. We used to be, but not any more. Which is ok. Except that I shouldn't be the lower class either, and that's where the Anglo-Americans have put me.
It's natural that when jobs are scarce those who offer jobs can demand more. It's a sign of the political system which needs to be changed. The wealthy are overwhelmingly favored and treat the working class with contempt. Something needs to be done. But it must be done right. They've broken the code, and when you break the code, you got to go. Everyone knows that.
The "Liberty Amendments" being talked about are an excellent example of how the wealthy intercept money at the political level. They want private property (this means property rented out for profit, not your personal stuff) to get even more legal enforcement. They want the government to tax less. To spend less. To have less power to restrain the upper class. But they still want the government to make us pay rent.
You shouldn't have to be exceptional to be considered to have the opportunity to pay the rent. The whole damn system is broken and it pisses me off.
For as long as I live
I never will forgive
You stripped me of dignity and pride
Christy Moore, Ordinary Man
-----
The following taken from WikiHow:
-------
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/referencesrecommendations/a/referencetips.htm
Who to Ask for a Reference
Former bosses, co-workers, customers, vendors, and colleagues all make good professional references. So do college professors.
Make a Reference List
Create a document listing your references. The list of references should not be included in your resume. Rather, create a separate reference list on the same paper you used for your resume. Have it ready to give to employers when you interview. Include three or four references, along with their job title, employer, and contact information. If the employer asks you to email your references, paste the list into the body of any email letter, rather than sending an attachment.
Request a Reference LetterEvery time you change employment, make a point of asking for a reference from your supervisor or a co-worker. That way, you can create a file of recommendations from people you may not necessarily be able to track down years later.
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Some tips on professionalism I've learned:
Check e-mail morning and afternoon.
Respond promptly to e-mails and phone messages.
Don't interrupt face to face conversation by answering phone.
Be on time!
Pay attention to how you smell! Smokers this means you!
Use blue ink pens, not black. Blue and black are both considered professional but the blue one lets you tell if it's a photocopy or not.
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Cleaned the kitchen. They can't stop me from doing valuable work by refusing to pay me. It keeps my mind off of depression and self-loathing while I'm busy.
8/15/13
Sent out more resumes yesterday. There are jobs but too much competition for them. Don't these people realize we have to pay the rent? Not their problem, I know.
But whose problem is it? Because our homes belong to us by Natural Law. When Natural Law is violated very bad things happen.
8/9/13
The interview was a group interview. Four people and one very intelligent and charming young man interviewing us. I made a number of mistakes which can be improved on.
He asked us to tell something interesting and strange. He played competitive Scrabble. One person had one day dedicated to him with a plaque and the like by a town. I need to have a good response to that sort of question.
I was asked to fill out an application. I didn't have references ready. When a person applies for work he is supposed to have professional and personal references ready to provide the interviewer.
I was a few minutes late.
I didn't spend time preparing my mini-lesson. One person had a little hand made model of the lungs with a balloon in a bottle which had a flexible diaphragm which could be pulled to make the balloon expand.
Grooming is important. I needed a haircut.
But I went, and feel there's a fair chance they'll call me back.
I got a response to another afterschool program that I did not respond to because of this interview. It is important to spam interviews and not rely on one. I learned this lesson with respect to resumes but I'm still getting lazy as soon as I get a response to a resume...
8/6/13
I have an interview on the 8th to teach afterschool science/engineering classes to little kids. Only one hour a day, $30 an hour, five days a week. Thats my car payment plus a bit per month. I also got another response from another afterschool program but haven't scheduled an interview yet.
8/1/13
Sent out three resumes today.
7/30/13
Response from the people hiring math teacher:
"We would be happy to consider your application should you wish to submit a letter of interest including your background to and relationship with mathematics and your current research interests."
How do you respond to that? Current math research interests?
There's nothing new on Craig's List.
7/29/13
Sent out two resumes before I signed into the blog. One is for $30 an hour afterschool and the other is for a math teacher position.
7/25/13
There are jobs on Craig's List. I wish I could be signed in on my e-mail at the same time as this blog so I could go back and forth easily. Maybe I need to stop using G-mail.
......
OK I sent a resume out for a part time position during the day in a school. Pay is fairly low ($15 an hour) but it also seems like a low stress job that leads naturally into teaching a class eventually. It also does not compete with the afterschool programs which are from 3-6 usually. Yay me.
7/24/13
Did dishes and sprayed for roaches. They still are dying in large numbers. How much roach killing does there need to be before the infestation is gone?
7/23/13
Back online. Cleaned kitchen again today. Juno queen of money bless me soon...
While I had no internet access I superglued my car's broken right side mirror back on. It works again. This is maintainance which increases the value of my car (which I had decreased even more when I broke the mirror housing on a pole).
7/7/13
I was able to sign into both e-mail accounts today but I wasn't signed into this blog or youtube. Signing into one of the accounts - the one I use to look for work - signed me out of this blog. FUCKING ANNOYING
Got up, made the bed, got dressed, and there's still a couple hours in the business day. Let's see what I can get done.
Something that makes new teachers' lives MUCH easier is providing them with master copies of worksheets and assignments that they can photocopy and distribute to the students. These worksheets also give the teacher guidance on what he is expected to teach. Many teachers consider such resources an insult but those people don't know how to solve quadratic equations so...try helping out those of us that know the material as well as catering to those who know how to run a classroom.
There is still work available. The nice thing about being educated is that when you do get work you're paid well and treated with respect and there is always some demand for people who can help rich teenagers get through high school math and take placement exams and the like.
There is another test I am being asked to take so I can transition into another completely different career from those I have been trained for in the past. When can I stop taking tests and start earning the rent money?!
Sent a resume to teach martial arts classes in the evenings.
7/6/13
From It's Chicano Rap (Remix) by MrBlue and others:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFxadaVR-2M
"How the Hell you gonna stop me
My ambition is endless!
Went from hustling on the block
To riding in Benzes
With TVs up in the headrests
Cookin' up tracks in the lab
Like a motherfuckin' chemist"
---
I use my inability to access gmail without signing out of Y! e-mail (and this blog) as an excuse. It's not hard to sign in from the one to the other. I should make a physical password document so I can't blame not remembering the password on not sending out resumes. That is a stupid excuse.
7/5/13
Not terribly productive. It is a business day even though it's right after the 4th but I didn't do anything except cleaned the kitchen and sprayed for roaches again.
7/4/13
Fourth of July! Hooray for independence and all that stuff. But this is the money entry so what does this mean for me? Legal holiday. Not a business day. So does this mean relax and play computer games? Not if I want to win the money game.
I got up at about 9 am. Scraped up seventeen dollars going to pick up a pizza for a friend last night. The Cash account under Assets gets +17. Equity goes up +17 from whatever negative number it's at (I still can't get myself to go through my debts though I did keep records). If I spend this seventeen dollars as a partial payment toward my car, then the Cash account loses the 17 and the 9,300 Car Debt account under Liabilities goes down 17 as well. And Equity is higher than it used to be which means my score went up - not credit score like from the commercials - but Equity score which is the one that really matters. So I'm "winning" the money game when I receive money and then pay a debt even though I handed cash over to someone else. But that's only if I expect to be able to pay the rest of the debt off eventually.
My mentality has long been that of someone who considers himself a poor person. In such a state of mind, you're never going to be able to pay off your debt, so making payments is only useful to prevent harassing phone calls or getting your car towed.
We should not need to be punished to get us to pay our bills. We should have an income that allows us to pay our bills and expect that things will get better. A system that relies on adding stress to the lives of people who already cannot pay their bills is a bad system.
7/3/13
Non productive day. I prepared for bed at 9 and was asleep by 10...and slept until 11:30! I don't remember the alarm going off...I did set it. Sold recyclables which I had already bagged and took the money for personal expenses. No net change in the accouting equation unless having recyclables counts as an asset that I liquidated and expensed.
I have too many books. Most are left over from college.
I have several computers. How does one wipe them clean? I heard something about "factory reset" once. I'd love to be able to use my old computer again. Maybe sell the others.
7/2/13
Woke up at 9:45. Haven't gotten moving on the money game yet and it's 12:20.
Volunteering is a good way to get active. I've done it before. What to volunteer for?
Massage chair is worth $70-100. The massage table $100-300. The bicycle $300. Can old textbooks be sold? Will anyone buy them?
I think about trying to get a job or advertise and it gets hard to breathe. So I blaze, and I procrastinate. And the days go by.
...
Did the dishes, took out the trash, located and threw away rotten bananas with tiny maggots forming on them and sprayed for roaches. It took a few hours. This is valuable work but it doesn't improve my score in the money game. I have a little weed but I'm not smoking it. Self restraint. Kids who are given the choice between one treat now or two treats later tend to be more successful in life if they choose the two treats later. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush but it's not worth two birds in the hand a little bit later. And now it's 9pm and time to prepare for bed.
7/1/13
Took a shower and prepared for bed at 9 pm but my father wanted me to stay up so I could pick up some paperwork for his business. Went to bed at 11 pm. Woke at 6:40 am in time to check in with him to make sure he didn't need anything then went back to sleep. Woke at noon. Waking rituals extended over an hour. Now it's 1 pm.
It's frustrating how youtube has shared my yahoo! e-mail information with g-mail. Now I can't be on both accounts at once; it signs me off the one when I sign on to the other.
Just got a call from a creditor. "Hi you owe money. This call is going to be recorded". "I don't have it." "There is a savings account listed can we take the payment from that?" "What savings account?" "Please verify your mailing address." "Ok, (mailing address given)." "Now verify your e-mail." "What savings account?" "I need to verify your identity." "You told me I had a savings account and now you're asking me for more information? What do you need to know from me before you can answer my question?" "Can I put you on hold?" "OK, sir, please verify that you are driving the car." "Why do you keep asking me questions? What savings account?" "OK sir you want information. You have to go to the branch to get that information." "OK I will talk to the people at the branch then. Bye."
Whenever I'm nice and cooperative these financial institutions write down everything I say and use it to make my life hell. They have no interest in cooperating; they are set up in an adversarial way. Yes I know the agreement. I pay you or you tow the car. Enough with the bullshit already.
...
Drove down the the branch and was told that they couldn't tell me anything because the savings account in question is not in my name and it has been closed anyway. I know whose it is but I find it very annoying to be asked to access an account I cannot access. I gave them five bucks toward the missed payment. They gave me a little receipt which had a number a few bucks lower than the number I previously had. In accounting terms, the Cash account, a subdivision of Assets on the left, lost five dollars, and to balance this Liabilities went down five dollars. Equity is unchanged.
The car is worth about $15,000 in top condition, about $10,000 in "fair" condition. The right rear-view mirror is broken, hanging from the control wire. I have the glass mirror in the back seat unbroken. The body is scratched along the sides and the car needs some basic maintainance like oil change, air in the tires etc. I owe about $9,300 on it. Thus I have positive equity in the car. Whether or not one is behind on payments does not directly affect Liability but having the car towed means Assets takes a massive hit with no corresponding decrease in Liability. Thus it comes out of my already negative Equity in myself. So selling the car seems like a reasonable option. Legally if they tow it they should pay me for what it's worth minus what I owe, minus the tow truck service, but in reality they will take the car and leave me with the Liability AKA the money owed on the car loan. They do the same BS with houses and mortgages. This is a bad system that rewards dastardly capitalist plotting.
I owe money to the internet company. They'll eventually cancel my access if I don't pay up. They have a pretty good system where you can walk into the branch and pay a machine instead of waiting in line and they don't cut you off for missing one payment.
My cell phone is an Expense. None of this nonsense about missing payments and threatening phone calls. You miss a payment, you get cut off. Pay them and you get phone service back. That's a good system too.
The rent must be paid or the police will come get you. That's a bad system. Rent should go toward ownership. Being required to pay rent for housing is a rent-seeking and therefore economically nonproductive business model if ever there was one.
6/30/13
It's Sunday. Tomorrow's Monday. To bed early (9-10) pm and ideally rise with the Sun, or at least before the official business day begins (8-5 M-F). To do otherwise is irresponsible. Time is precious. I haven't been thinking of the money game the last few days but time waits for no man. The political game is tied up with the money game so I need to check that out too. This rigged money game needs to be patched.
6/24/13
Stuff gets in the way. Consolidate information, throw old papers away. Sell stuff. Spend time putting stuff into condition to be sold. Throw stuff away. Streamline, minimize, simplify.
Surfing the internet, smoking pot, smoking cigarettes, drinking beer, drinking soda, eating out, expensive waste of time that interferes with and competes with the money game.
6/23/13
The Game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement; several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired and strengthened by it, so as to become habits ready on all occasions; for life is a kind of Chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the effect of prudence, or the want of it. By playing at Chess then, we may learn: 1st, Foresight, which looks a little into futurity, and considers the consequences that may attend an action ... 2nd, Circumspection, which surveys the whole Chess-board, or scene of action: — the relation of the several Pieces, and their situations; ... 3rd, Caution, not to make our moves too hastily...
"The Morals of Chess" (article) (1750) by Benjamin Franklin
6/22/13
Video gamers have a slang term called "grinding". This means that while playing the game, you intentionally do repetitious, boring, seemingly pointless work (that mostly involves killing stuff and looting the corpses) in order to make an abstract number called "experience points" to go up higher. This process is rewarded by periodically a *ding* sound as well as a promotion that makes the character tougher and more powerful. This is basically addictive behavior and is very similar to the addictive behavior of a businessperson; however the latter gets paid for getting a high score instead of a *ding* sound.
Planning, preparation and maintainance are crucial. This is part of what makes the US military so incredible. They're always working, even when they're not fighting. They practice, they repair, they exercise, they study, they educate their people, they make contingency plans, etc.
Animals, including humans, are interesting, frustrating and powerful because they are not passive. They are constantly interacting with and modifying their environment for their own purposes. This makes jobs like being a teacher frustrating because the teacher is expected to control children who are often not properly acculturated to effectively learn in a classroom setting.
Mao Zedong was a sadistic sociopath Communist, so I don't recommend emulating him too much. However he had an amazing knack for manipulating groups of people. His methods are worth studying since he made them work even when people were unwilling to be manipulated. Teachers as well as businesspeople are in an environment where they need to manipulate groups of people who are often unwilling to be manipulated.
Rent-seeking is behavior that provides money to an individual at the expense of someone else. It is not economically productive and it is far too heavily encouraged by our legal system. Maoism is based on rent-seeking behavior where the higher status people take from lower status people who are then allowed to die without concern from the State. It's a Ponzi scheme. Ponzi schemes are rent-seeking business models and that's why they are illegal in the USA.
Free advertising can be done simply by hanging out at coffee shops talking to people (this is what business cards are for). Notices can be stapled or taped to wooden telephone posts and the like.
Food stamps are in effect pre-paid expenses so therefore are good from the perspective of the accounting equation that is receiving them. They count as an Asset.
Education is a very bad thing from the perspective of the accounting equation because it is an expense. It is not an investment in financial terms because it does not increase Assets or Equity/Capital. In theory it will eventually increase Income but the equation does not take that into account.
6/21/13
When do people spend money? When they have it, impulsively. This is not the only time but it is often true. Offer services regularly so as to catch people when they're spending impulsively.
Should someone want to hire you, or the services of your business, they need to know about you. Advertising. Having to pay to advertise is frustrating because if I'm trying to earn money it's usually because I don't have any.
Some hypothetical businesses -
Driver. Necessary asset - car. Cell phone.
Restaraunt owner. Necessary asset - ability to pay the bills until the customers provide income.
Massage Therapist. Necessary asset - massage table. Also need business license and training. Skilled work. Problems with prostitution in the massage field leads to unpleasant encounters with slimy men who want happy endings. Craig's List charges for advertising for Therapeutic Services (and nothing else from what I can tell) probably because of the influence of prostitutes.
General Contactor. Need tools, equipment, vehicle, a contractor's license.
Pirate. Necessary Asset - pirate ship, weaponry.
Gangster. No assets needed to start.
Getting a job is different than running a business. A job means you are working in someone else's business. "Job creators" are people who can figure out a way to establish and make thrive a business which hires workers, who are the people who "have a job". A contractor hires tradesmen. A pirate captain hires pirates. A McDonald's franchise manager hires cooks and cashiers.
A business owner or manager is like an economic catalyst which makes spontaneous financial reactions occur more readily by arranging a convenient mechanism which passes through his metaphorical hands.
6/13/13
Procrastination is a major problem in running a business, even if that business is simply your own financial situation. Missed deadlines, missed opportunities, very bad. This is a very common problem. "Fortunately" one can still balance the accounting equation by using a negative capital value even if debts outweigh assets and are not being paid. This allows an individual to work on the problem mathematically even if their financial situation is completely out of control. This is a good thing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debits_and_credits#The_five_accounting_elements
Assets + Expenses = Equity/Capital + Liabilities + Income
Expenses and Income are modifiers to Equity/Capital.
A = C + (I - E) + L
In plain English, the total financial resources available to a business are 1) what the owner invests in the business and 2) what the business borrowed. When money comes in or goes out, the owner takes the hit in Capital loss or gain. Liabilities (aka debts) are not directly effected by whether the business is making money.
Ideally, A is the variable to maximize on the left while C is the variable to maximize on the right. L should be minimized; however increase in L provides an increase in A, so is not necessarily a bad thing.
In the five element equation, E is to be minimized and I is to be maximized so as to maximize C - the owner's Capital invested in the business measured in dollar units.
These dollar units used in accounting are not actual dollars; some of them are pieces of equipment worth a certain amount of dollars etc.
http://www.freechurchaccounting.com/basicaccounting.html
There are advantages and disadvantages of using a single entry bookkeeping system. The main advantage is the simplicity. It involves the simplest form of keeping records of financial transactions. Essentially the organization makes two lists, one of income received and one of expenses incurred.
In other words, single entry bookkeeping leaves out the amount of money invested in the business, any debts, and any equipment the business owns. It just records daily changes in C.
Example:
Let's imagine a new person being born. We'll call him Marvin. Marvin is born with a balace equation that is very simple. 0 = 0
Marvin's expenses and income are provided for by his parents presumably so his equation does not change until he gets a job or borrows money to go to school.
Let's say he gets a job that pays a thousand dollars a month. The first month's balance equation would become
A = C + (I - E) + L
1000 = 0 + (1000 - 0) + 0
Next month,
2000 = 1000 + (1000 - 0) + 0
If he gets internet access and a subscription to WoW (let's say they cost a hundred bucks together per month),
2900 = 2000 + (1000 - 100) + 0
If he borrows 25,000 dollars for school the next month while keeping his job and living with his Mom,
3,800 = 2,900 + (1,000 - 25,100) + 25,000
This means that he as a financial entity is worth $3,900 because he had $2,900 at the beginning of the month, earned $1,000, payed tuition worth 25,000 as well as WoW for $100, and borrowed $25,000. Next month Marvin's balance equation looks like this:
4,700 = (-22,200) + (1,000 - 100) + 25,000
Marvin technically has Assets worth 4,700 at the end of this month but negative Capital. This means he has $4,700 in cash but is in debt $25,000. Therefore his net worth is negative although he still has an income, is paying his video game expenses and has cash on hand.
If he were to buy a used car for $2,000, nothing would change, because both $2,000 in cash and a car worth $2,000 are recorded as Assets on the balance sheet.
6/3/13
Procedures for gaining and spending money are important. This is not necessarily obvious to people who do not grow up being taught such things. Procedures allow people to work toward a goal without having to reinvent the wheel every time.
Some of my procedures when unemployed (a time when procedures are especially important because of emotional stresses) include:
*Check e-mail, all three accounts - login and password need to be readily available, don't rely on automatic sign-in on cell phone or home computer
*Check cell phone, make sure it's charged, check messages
*Check Craig's List for job opportunities
*Follow up on job opportunities by sending an e-mail with resume
One trick I've learned is to avoid focussing on jobs which make applying difficult. Spamming resumes out is more effective in my experience than manually filling out every company's elaborate online application form. It is far, far more time efficient and less of a drain on my energy. There's no guarantee those online applications will lead to anything. However they're worth filling out if there are no other leads.
Procedures for spending money are also critical, because without these, even if money is acquired, the money gets spent impulsively on luxuries while the bills get ignored. It happens to lots of people including me.
Understanding the bank's procedures is also critical because they use subtleties in their procedures to screw ignorant common folks. For instance, they make enormous amounts of money on overdrafts, and the rules used to calculate whether an account overdraws and how many times it does so (thirty five bucks each time) are elaborate and counterintuitive. For example, if a person had fifty dollars in his account, and bought candy for a dollar with the ATM card, and then a lighter for a dollar with the ATM card separately, and then sixty dollars of gasoline separately, they are likely to get hit with THREE overdraft payments when they are only expecting one. Why? Because the bank's procedures are such that the sixty dollars of gasoline is processed first, even if it was the last of the three purchases. Therefore the sixty dollars of gasoline costs ninety five dollars, the one dollar candy costs thirty six dollars, and the one dollar lighter also costs thirty six dollars - even though when the candy and the lighter were purchased the account had fifty dollars in it.
I've always been uncomfortable talking about money. I grew up with the sense that it is shameful to ask for money, it is shameful to talk about one's financial troubles, and it is shameful to brag about having money on those occasions I had a little bit because it would make poor people feel bad.
However, our society is based around the fact that money is our official scoring system, and it is backed by force. We are de facto legally obligated to house ourselves in the USA at our own expense, but nobody is de facto required to make sure we can afford the rent. This is why we have homeless and why most peoples' lives are so full of stress; you can't miss paying the rent or the mortgage payment. If you do, the police will come after you. Land ownership in the modern capitalistic world is not equivalent to the sort of land ownership John Locke wrote about, and institutional ignorance of this subtlety is one of the causes of the myriad problems we have in society today.
6/5/10
I think there is profit to be made in shipping between Liberia and the American South due to the extremely powerful cultural connection between Liberia and Afro-Americans. As time goes on more money will enter the Afro-American community and Western Africa will settle down once there's profit to be made in being peaceful.
5/18/10
Stocks slide after euro falls to new 4-year low
By TIM PARADIS, Ap Business Writer
NEW YORK – Investors uneasy about the news coming out of Europe Tuesday went back to selling stocks sharply lower. The falling euro and news that German regulators plan to limit some kinds of short selling fed the drop.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100518/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street;_ylt=Agzxdrt2ol3mwCGpuNTCY8JnhVID;_ylu=X3oDMTMzM29vaml2BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNTE4L3VzX3dhbGxfc3RyZWV0BGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDNwRwb3MDNwRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrA3N0b2Nrc3NsaWRlYQ--
5/6/10
the jobs that many of these men, or those like them, once had in construction, factories and offices aren't coming back. "A good guess…is that when the economy recovers five years from now, one in six men who are 25 to 54 will not be working," Lawrence Summers, the president's economic adviser, said the other day.
This is not one of the many things that can be blamed on subprime lending, inept regulators or Goldman Sachs. "The Great Recession has reinforced prevailing labor market trends that were under way long before the recession," David Autor, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist, observed in a recent paper commissioned by two Democratic-leaning think tanks, the Center for American Progress and the Hamilton Project.
Demand for workers who haven't much education -- which includes many men, particularly minority-group men -- is waning. A shrinking fraction of them are working.
Meet the Unemployable Man
by David WesselSaturday, May 1, 2010
Provided by the Wall Street Journal
http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/109471/meet-the-unemployable-man?mod=career-work
EDIT 4/9/10
To paraphrase a few millionaires I met while they were trying to get me to buy water filters wholesale - the path to wealth involves selling products that require regular purchases from you to use; printers and ink; iPods which are designed to be hard to open so you have to hire their guys to open it and replace the expensive battery; and water filtration systems in which you have to replace the filter regularly.
See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence
A friend of a friend, who was a millionaire, supposedly said the path to wealth and leisure is owning housing and renting it out.
EDIT 3/27/10
Strong economy, work, make and save money. Weak economy or recession, spend money.
"I feel like a sex addict in a whorehouse!"
-Warren Buffet on the 2k recession.
He bought trains, because a recovering economy means movement of goods.
EDIT 3/28/10
Tech firms try to outperk one another
Silicon Valley companies hope to keep innovation flowing with freebies and fun, such as go-cart racing and cash prizes.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-fi-perks28-2010mar28,0,3505494.story?track=rss
EDIT 3/29/10
The Geography of Poverty and Wealth
http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cidinthenews/articles/Sciam_0301_article.html
EDIT 3/30/10
Geography and Economic Development: Some Empirical Findings
http://www.earth.columbia.edu/sitefiles/file/about/director/pubs/EMPFIND.pdf
EDIT 4/1/10
"A profession is a vocation founded upon specialised educational training, the purpose of which is to supply disinterested counsel and service to others, for a direct and definite compensation, wholly apart from expectation of other business gain. "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profession
New Statesman, 21 April 1917, article by the Webbs quoted with approval at paragraph 123 of a report by the UK Competition Commission, dated 8 November 1977, entitled Architects Services(in Chapter 7).
EDIT 4/5/10
The Best Jobs Report In a Long Time
by Hale "Bonddad" Stewart @ 9:16 AM
Article posted 4/3/10
...it's pretty obvious the recession is over...
From the BLS:
"Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 162,000 in March, and the unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Temporary help services and health care continued to add jobs over the month.
Employment in federal government also rose, reflecting the hiring of temporary workers for Census 2010. Employment continued to decline in financial activities and in information."
...It appears the unemployment rate has topped out in the 9.5%-10% range. While we're not seeing any downward momentum, we aren't seeing anymore strong upside moves either.
Also note the unemployment rate continues to be high for those with low educational achievement and low for those with high educational achievement:
Bachelor's or higher: 4.9% (this is near full employment from an economic perspective).
...the number of people entering the ranks of the unemployed continues to drop.
...The number of people unemployed for less than 5 weeks continues to drop.
...The number of people unemployed for [5-26] weeks is also dropping. However this number is still very high and will require a fair amount of time to get back to a "normal" level.
...The number of people unemployed for longer than 27 weeks is still increasing. The primary reason for this is a large percentage of job losses during the recession (over 70%) occurred in construction and manufacturing. Construction will never return to the levels seen in the last expansion and manufacturing is undergoing a productivity revolution where employees are being replaced by automation. As such, former construction and manufacturing employees will face an incredibly difficult job environment going forward.
...Those working part time for economic reasons increased 263,000.
...October of 2008 to March 2009 the economy lost over 600,000/month. That means that over a 5 month period the economy lost over 3 million jobs. In addition, remember that during the recession the economy lost all the jobs created in the last expansion:
...An economy that lost all of the jobs created in the previous expansion will not turn around and start adding 300,000 jobs/month anytime soon.
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/04/best-jobs-report-in-long-time.html
9/21/14
Working full time at a low stress job. I keep thinking about the fact that paying debts improves my "accounting score". Understanding this makes it so much less unpleasant to pay them. I noticed the banks and automobile companies paid back the bail out money very quickly.
Construction vocabulary - water test, hot mop, lath
8/29/14
Vocabulary from the construction trade: darby, slump test, lath, joist, rafter, water weenie, GFI (Ground fault Interruptor), cold chisel, greenboard, wallboard, drywall, ReBar (Reinforcing Bar), dowel, circular saw, jigsaw,
Vocabulary for the chemistry laboratory: Erlenmeyer flask, round bottom flask, centrifuge, fume hood, graduated cylinder, volumetric flask, Büchner flask, watch glass, stirring rod, burette, dessicator, evaporation dish
Vocabulary for massage therapy: petrissage, efflurage, friction, trigger point, deep tissue, acupressure, traction
8/6/14
Paying bills, paying debts. Decrease cash assets, decrease liability.
6/12/14
I seem to have finally gotten to the point where I make enough money and have a little bit of security for the future as well. I've been focused on attaining this for 20 years. Low stress, potential for advancement, lots of personal freedom. Enough cash to get by for now.
Some financial transactions - bought a handheld video game console. My logic was that such a device is an asset, not an expenditure, and can be resold. The alternative recreational spending options, like alcohol or a massage (consumables and services), would decrease my equity while decreasing my cash assets, while this expenditure transfers some of those cash assets into property with cash value, keeping the assets and equity values higher.
Crashed into someone, minor damage. Insurance had just been cancelled for nonpayment. Got a ticket. It was a calm, civilized business transaction. I lost a chunk of money, but can go on with my life. I took it in stride. I need to pay more attention when I drive and when I pay bills. That car represents a pile of money, and every bit of damage removes - destroys some of that money from my ownership. In fact the car is not money, but it is wealth, in the strict Adam Smith sense of the word - property with financial value.
3/23/14
I haven't had internet access so I haven't been writing here. I got a pretty decent job but it's only for a few months. Summer's coming. I have to make car payments and education jobs are based on the school year. And education doesn't have such obnoxious application requirements like grocery stores. Having a science degree helps.
11/21/13
I have a few dollars. Those dollars are points. They are not just for spending, but for having. Having the dollars gives power and prestige. Having dollars gives respect. Having dollars gets you laid.
Each one is an individual with it's own serial number but they are interchangeable. They're like Roman Legionaires. They can be sacrificed for benefit or for no benefit, but it's always best to keep them as resources.
Normally I think of money as something to spend. But lately I have been reluctant to spend it. When I do spend it I keep some in reserve. Instead of spending eleven dollars I spend eight. Instead of spending three, I spend two. And it makes life so much easier.
The professional mindset is complex. You don't want to be unpleasant, but you don't want to be intrusive or wasteful of time. You do the job effectively and efficiently and interactions with the client are for that purpose.
11/20/13
The grocery store wants a LOT of information. Drug testing. Medical marijuana is a no-no. Are you in default on student loans? If you haven't paid your bills in the past, you're not allowed to pay them in the future I guess. Where have you lived in the past four years? Etc etc etc.
I just want to do work for money. Minimum wage is fine. Just let me live in dignity. Let me earn the right to pay my bills.
Anger and depression are suppressed, but they are there. What to do?
Just keep applying for work I guess. Accept rejection. It's a numbers game. Low % of success means I need to apply to more places.
Flashes of anger. Humiliation. But at least it's for a SECOND job. My first job didn't do any of this crap. I guess working in a supermarket isn't for me. What else is there?
There is always work to do. Pick up the books and put them on the shelf. Hang up the coat. Exercise. Just because I'm not being paid doesn't mean I can't work. I can also make sure my other job's paperwork is done.
11/19/13
Struggling with depression and loneliness, but it's not too bad. I am acutely aware of the fact that I don't own my home and I don't fully own my car. This bothers me.
It crossed my mind that the car itself is a sort of savings account. If I pay more money for the car, that equity remains in it. It's not like a bank savings account where I can just spend it like it was in my checking account.
I need to get a document from my insurance company to the finance company. This will reduce the amount I owe. Paper shuffling. But that's how the money game works.
11/18/13
I started an online application for a supermarket chain. They want a list of previous addresses. Do I have that information? I should, but I'm not sure.
11/15/13
I need more hours. What kind of work is available during actual work hours? Getting a position in a school is difficult.
11/12/13
I just took a MASSIVE financial hit. It was predictable but I failed to prevent it. I did not collapse in an anxiety attack, which is good. I went to sleep and followed up at the first opportunity. It's just a penalty in the game, not something to take personally. Play the game more carefully and these things won't happen. It's like any number of video games where noobs die immediately and the skilled players are cautious and aware of the dangers. Hopefully I can find a way to pay this bill.
11/6/13
My manager is talking about having me manage a nearby tutor. She has been very respectful to me, helping me speed through paperwork and orientations. I will be able to pay my car payment as well as some of what I owe for the next few months and catch up on that.
I got my first small check for 80 dollars. I took forty for personal expenses and paid forty toward my car payment. I know how to start writing this stuff down now, but I haven't actually prepared a formal notebook to do it. But I know that I used forty dollars which came out of my equity - lowering my personal "score" by forty - in order to pay for those personal expenses. The other forty, with which I partially paid my car payment, did NOT lower my "score" - it just transferred from one form of equity to another - cash to car.
I don't feel like I'm "in trouble" with my job. It's good. That feeling that I'm behind on paperwork etc is nerve wracking. This job is low stress. This is very, very good.
10/29/13
My afternoon job is up and running. I'll start being able to make some payments. Not all of them, but some. Now I need to find morning work.
Google is far too intrusive. I don't like them.
10/1/13
So now the government has been shut down. Things better get better after Democrats take the House back and the government can get back to governing.
I paid a small debt. It is good to pay debts.
There is always work to be done. I cannot allow myself to forget that.
9/26/13
I sent in my documents. I still have no job. They'll get around to giving me some work if it becomes available I guess.
Some girl stopped me in the street and asked me if I wanted a morning job. It turns out she was trying to help a Mexican guy who was selling fixed up junk appliances establish a delivery service. I did hard labor for this dude and because the customer was dissatisfied with the ghetto appliances he was provided with I did not get paid. They even had the gall to call me back to deliver another one without offering me the money they owed me.
I sent in an application with an awkward cover letter for a job that actually provides enough hopurs and benefits to live on, though the hourly pay is no better than the lower paid afterschool programs. I probably should have sent my references with the application. I've been looking up old work associates and getting references together.
LinkedIn is apparently a widely used professional Facebook/online resume service. I started an account and will be putting in more information soon. All kinds of professional coworkers and friends from past and present are on there.
The Tea Party Republicans in Congress need to GO.
9/10/13
I was offered the low paying part time position and sent documents to get ready - fingerprints, TB test - total costs ~$60-$70 which I don't have. I need to wait to ask someone else, when they can afford it, in a few days. This is how lack of "liquidity" - cash ready to spend for stuff like this - makes it hard to make money. So frustrating!!! I'm worried about being able to come up with the money I need to be allowed to work for low pay, for maybe a dozen hours a week, during the hours where work is easiest to get. Arrgh.
9/1/13
I had an interview for a fairly low paying afterschool tutoring position. If they call me back next week for another interview I will know I did well the first time.
I saw the movie The Butler. It made me reflect on the culture of class and civilization. Being civilized pays better than being barbaric.
Here's to hoping the Republicans get voted out of Congress in this next election. Their disciplined defense of the upper class - no, I don't mean lawyers and doctors, I mean Old Money - is ruining this country.
8/21/13
I've been sending out resumes and not receiving responses. I haven't signed in to this blog because I didn't want to sign out of e-mail.
I do note that the jobs offered often demand a lot from applicants. Cover letters, references up front, multiple applications, "convince us you deserve an interview" by doing large amounts of work up front just so they'll consider considering the potential employee.
I haven't been cultivating references. The whole "professional employee" game bores me. But it's based on power, and unlike when this was the Spanish Empire, I am not of the privelaged class. We used to be, but not any more. Which is ok. Except that I shouldn't be the lower class either, and that's where the Anglo-Americans have put me.
It's natural that when jobs are scarce those who offer jobs can demand more. It's a sign of the political system which needs to be changed. The wealthy are overwhelmingly favored and treat the working class with contempt. Something needs to be done. But it must be done right. They've broken the code, and when you break the code, you got to go. Everyone knows that.
The "Liberty Amendments" being talked about are an excellent example of how the wealthy intercept money at the political level. They want private property (this means property rented out for profit, not your personal stuff) to get even more legal enforcement. They want the government to tax less. To spend less. To have less power to restrain the upper class. But they still want the government to make us pay rent.
You shouldn't have to be exceptional to be considered to have the opportunity to pay the rent. The whole damn system is broken and it pisses me off.
For as long as I live
I never will forgive
You stripped me of dignity and pride
Christy Moore, Ordinary Man
-----
The following taken from WikiHow:
Dear [insert name of hiring manager],
Body
First paragraph: Mention the job you’re applying for and where you found the job listing.
Middle paragraphs: Discuss your qualifications. These paragraphs should be specifically tailored to requirements posted in the job listing. You might also consider including why this specific company interested you in the first place. Limit this section to two to three paragraphs.
Final paragraph: Discuss the next steps. If you are going to follow up in one to two weeks, mention a specific date. If you would prefer to leave the ball in their court, say that you look forward to discussing your qualifications further. Also provide your email address and phone number. Don’t forget to thank them for their time.
Close
Best,
[insert your name]
-------
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/referencesrecommendations/a/referencetips.htm
Who to Ask for a Reference
Former bosses, co-workers, customers, vendors, and colleagues all make good professional references. So do college professors.
Make a Reference List
Create a document listing your references. The list of references should not be included in your resume. Rather, create a separate reference list on the same paper you used for your resume. Have it ready to give to employers when you interview. Include three or four references, along with their job title, employer, and contact information. If the employer asks you to email your references, paste the list into the body of any email letter, rather than sending an attachment.
Request a Reference LetterEvery time you change employment, make a point of asking for a reference from your supervisor or a co-worker. That way, you can create a file of recommendations from people you may not necessarily be able to track down years later.
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Some tips on professionalism I've learned:
Check e-mail morning and afternoon.
Respond promptly to e-mails and phone messages.
Don't interrupt face to face conversation by answering phone.
Be on time!
Pay attention to how you smell! Smokers this means you!
Use blue ink pens, not black. Blue and black are both considered professional but the blue one lets you tell if it's a photocopy or not.
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Cleaned the kitchen. They can't stop me from doing valuable work by refusing to pay me. It keeps my mind off of depression and self-loathing while I'm busy.
8/15/13
Sent out more resumes yesterday. There are jobs but too much competition for them. Don't these people realize we have to pay the rent? Not their problem, I know.
But whose problem is it? Because our homes belong to us by Natural Law. When Natural Law is violated very bad things happen.
8/9/13
The interview was a group interview. Four people and one very intelligent and charming young man interviewing us. I made a number of mistakes which can be improved on.
He asked us to tell something interesting and strange. He played competitive Scrabble. One person had one day dedicated to him with a plaque and the like by a town. I need to have a good response to that sort of question.
I was asked to fill out an application. I didn't have references ready. When a person applies for work he is supposed to have professional and personal references ready to provide the interviewer.
I was a few minutes late.
I didn't spend time preparing my mini-lesson. One person had a little hand made model of the lungs with a balloon in a bottle which had a flexible diaphragm which could be pulled to make the balloon expand.
Grooming is important. I needed a haircut.
But I went, and feel there's a fair chance they'll call me back.
I got a response to another afterschool program that I did not respond to because of this interview. It is important to spam interviews and not rely on one. I learned this lesson with respect to resumes but I'm still getting lazy as soon as I get a response to a resume...
8/6/13
I have an interview on the 8th to teach afterschool science/engineering classes to little kids. Only one hour a day, $30 an hour, five days a week. Thats my car payment plus a bit per month. I also got another response from another afterschool program but haven't scheduled an interview yet.
8/1/13
Sent out three resumes today.
7/30/13
Response from the people hiring math teacher:
"We would be happy to consider your application should you wish to submit a letter of interest including your background to and relationship with mathematics and your current research interests."
How do you respond to that? Current math research interests?
There's nothing new on Craig's List.
7/29/13
Sent out two resumes before I signed into the blog. One is for $30 an hour afterschool and the other is for a math teacher position.
7/25/13
There are jobs on Craig's List. I wish I could be signed in on my e-mail at the same time as this blog so I could go back and forth easily. Maybe I need to stop using G-mail.
......
OK I sent a resume out for a part time position during the day in a school. Pay is fairly low ($15 an hour) but it also seems like a low stress job that leads naturally into teaching a class eventually. It also does not compete with the afterschool programs which are from 3-6 usually. Yay me.
7/24/13
Did dishes and sprayed for roaches. They still are dying in large numbers. How much roach killing does there need to be before the infestation is gone?
7/23/13
Back online. Cleaned kitchen again today. Juno queen of money bless me soon...
While I had no internet access I superglued my car's broken right side mirror back on. It works again. This is maintainance which increases the value of my car (which I had decreased even more when I broke the mirror housing on a pole).
7/7/13
I was able to sign into both e-mail accounts today but I wasn't signed into this blog or youtube. Signing into one of the accounts - the one I use to look for work - signed me out of this blog. FUCKING ANNOYING
Got up, made the bed, got dressed, and there's still a couple hours in the business day. Let's see what I can get done.
Something that makes new teachers' lives MUCH easier is providing them with master copies of worksheets and assignments that they can photocopy and distribute to the students. These worksheets also give the teacher guidance on what he is expected to teach. Many teachers consider such resources an insult but those people don't know how to solve quadratic equations so...try helping out those of us that know the material as well as catering to those who know how to run a classroom.
There is still work available. The nice thing about being educated is that when you do get work you're paid well and treated with respect and there is always some demand for people who can help rich teenagers get through high school math and take placement exams and the like.
There is another test I am being asked to take so I can transition into another completely different career from those I have been trained for in the past. When can I stop taking tests and start earning the rent money?!
Sent a resume to teach martial arts classes in the evenings.
7/6/13
From It's Chicano Rap (Remix) by MrBlue and others:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFxadaVR-2M
"How the Hell you gonna stop me
My ambition is endless!
Went from hustling on the block
To riding in Benzes
With TVs up in the headrests
Cookin' up tracks in the lab
Like a motherfuckin' chemist"
---
I use my inability to access gmail without signing out of Y! e-mail (and this blog) as an excuse. It's not hard to sign in from the one to the other. I should make a physical password document so I can't blame not remembering the password on not sending out resumes. That is a stupid excuse.
7/5/13
Not terribly productive. It is a business day even though it's right after the 4th but I didn't do anything except cleaned the kitchen and sprayed for roaches again.
7/4/13
Fourth of July! Hooray for independence and all that stuff. But this is the money entry so what does this mean for me? Legal holiday. Not a business day. So does this mean relax and play computer games? Not if I want to win the money game.
I got up at about 9 am. Scraped up seventeen dollars going to pick up a pizza for a friend last night. The Cash account under Assets gets +17. Equity goes up +17 from whatever negative number it's at (I still can't get myself to go through my debts though I did keep records). If I spend this seventeen dollars as a partial payment toward my car, then the Cash account loses the 17 and the 9,300 Car Debt account under Liabilities goes down 17 as well. And Equity is higher than it used to be which means my score went up - not credit score like from the commercials - but Equity score which is the one that really matters. So I'm "winning" the money game when I receive money and then pay a debt even though I handed cash over to someone else. But that's only if I expect to be able to pay the rest of the debt off eventually.
My mentality has long been that of someone who considers himself a poor person. In such a state of mind, you're never going to be able to pay off your debt, so making payments is only useful to prevent harassing phone calls or getting your car towed.
We should not need to be punished to get us to pay our bills. We should have an income that allows us to pay our bills and expect that things will get better. A system that relies on adding stress to the lives of people who already cannot pay their bills is a bad system.
7/3/13
Non productive day. I prepared for bed at 9 and was asleep by 10...and slept until 11:30! I don't remember the alarm going off...I did set it. Sold recyclables which I had already bagged and took the money for personal expenses. No net change in the accouting equation unless having recyclables counts as an asset that I liquidated and expensed.
I have too many books. Most are left over from college.
I have several computers. How does one wipe them clean? I heard something about "factory reset" once. I'd love to be able to use my old computer again. Maybe sell the others.
7/2/13
Woke up at 9:45. Haven't gotten moving on the money game yet and it's 12:20.
Volunteering is a good way to get active. I've done it before. What to volunteer for?
Massage chair is worth $70-100. The massage table $100-300. The bicycle $300. Can old textbooks be sold? Will anyone buy them?
I think about trying to get a job or advertise and it gets hard to breathe. So I blaze, and I procrastinate. And the days go by.
...
Did the dishes, took out the trash, located and threw away rotten bananas with tiny maggots forming on them and sprayed for roaches. It took a few hours. This is valuable work but it doesn't improve my score in the money game. I have a little weed but I'm not smoking it. Self restraint. Kids who are given the choice between one treat now or two treats later tend to be more successful in life if they choose the two treats later. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush but it's not worth two birds in the hand a little bit later. And now it's 9pm and time to prepare for bed.
7/1/13
Took a shower and prepared for bed at 9 pm but my father wanted me to stay up so I could pick up some paperwork for his business. Went to bed at 11 pm. Woke at 6:40 am in time to check in with him to make sure he didn't need anything then went back to sleep. Woke at noon. Waking rituals extended over an hour. Now it's 1 pm.
It's frustrating how youtube has shared my yahoo! e-mail information with g-mail. Now I can't be on both accounts at once; it signs me off the one when I sign on to the other.
Just got a call from a creditor. "Hi you owe money. This call is going to be recorded". "I don't have it." "There is a savings account listed can we take the payment from that?" "What savings account?" "Please verify your mailing address." "Ok, (mailing address given)." "Now verify your e-mail." "What savings account?" "I need to verify your identity." "You told me I had a savings account and now you're asking me for more information? What do you need to know from me before you can answer my question?" "Can I put you on hold?" "OK, sir, please verify that you are driving the car." "Why do you keep asking me questions? What savings account?" "OK sir you want information. You have to go to the branch to get that information." "OK I will talk to the people at the branch then. Bye."
Whenever I'm nice and cooperative these financial institutions write down everything I say and use it to make my life hell. They have no interest in cooperating; they are set up in an adversarial way. Yes I know the agreement. I pay you or you tow the car. Enough with the bullshit already.
...
Drove down the the branch and was told that they couldn't tell me anything because the savings account in question is not in my name and it has been closed anyway. I know whose it is but I find it very annoying to be asked to access an account I cannot access. I gave them five bucks toward the missed payment. They gave me a little receipt which had a number a few bucks lower than the number I previously had. In accounting terms, the Cash account, a subdivision of Assets on the left, lost five dollars, and to balance this Liabilities went down five dollars. Equity is unchanged.
The car is worth about $15,000 in top condition, about $10,000 in "fair" condition. The right rear-view mirror is broken, hanging from the control wire. I have the glass mirror in the back seat unbroken. The body is scratched along the sides and the car needs some basic maintainance like oil change, air in the tires etc. I owe about $9,300 on it. Thus I have positive equity in the car. Whether or not one is behind on payments does not directly affect Liability but having the car towed means Assets takes a massive hit with no corresponding decrease in Liability. Thus it comes out of my already negative Equity in myself. So selling the car seems like a reasonable option. Legally if they tow it they should pay me for what it's worth minus what I owe, minus the tow truck service, but in reality they will take the car and leave me with the Liability AKA the money owed on the car loan. They do the same BS with houses and mortgages. This is a bad system that rewards dastardly capitalist plotting.
I owe money to the internet company. They'll eventually cancel my access if I don't pay up. They have a pretty good system where you can walk into the branch and pay a machine instead of waiting in line and they don't cut you off for missing one payment.
My cell phone is an Expense. None of this nonsense about missing payments and threatening phone calls. You miss a payment, you get cut off. Pay them and you get phone service back. That's a good system too.
The rent must be paid or the police will come get you. That's a bad system. Rent should go toward ownership. Being required to pay rent for housing is a rent-seeking and therefore economically nonproductive business model if ever there was one.
6/30/13
It's Sunday. Tomorrow's Monday. To bed early (9-10) pm and ideally rise with the Sun, or at least before the official business day begins (8-5 M-F). To do otherwise is irresponsible. Time is precious. I haven't been thinking of the money game the last few days but time waits for no man. The political game is tied up with the money game so I need to check that out too. This rigged money game needs to be patched.
6/24/13
Stuff gets in the way. Consolidate information, throw old papers away. Sell stuff. Spend time putting stuff into condition to be sold. Throw stuff away. Streamline, minimize, simplify.
Surfing the internet, smoking pot, smoking cigarettes, drinking beer, drinking soda, eating out, expensive waste of time that interferes with and competes with the money game.
6/23/13
The Game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement; several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired and strengthened by it, so as to become habits ready on all occasions; for life is a kind of Chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the effect of prudence, or the want of it. By playing at Chess then, we may learn: 1st, Foresight, which looks a little into futurity, and considers the consequences that may attend an action ... 2nd, Circumspection, which surveys the whole Chess-board, or scene of action: — the relation of the several Pieces, and their situations; ... 3rd, Caution, not to make our moves too hastily...
"The Morals of Chess" (article) (1750) by Benjamin Franklin
6/22/13
Video gamers have a slang term called "grinding". This means that while playing the game, you intentionally do repetitious, boring, seemingly pointless work (that mostly involves killing stuff and looting the corpses) in order to make an abstract number called "experience points" to go up higher. This process is rewarded by periodically a *ding* sound as well as a promotion that makes the character tougher and more powerful. This is basically addictive behavior and is very similar to the addictive behavior of a businessperson; however the latter gets paid for getting a high score instead of a *ding* sound.
Planning, preparation and maintainance are crucial. This is part of what makes the US military so incredible. They're always working, even when they're not fighting. They practice, they repair, they exercise, they study, they educate their people, they make contingency plans, etc.
Animals, including humans, are interesting, frustrating and powerful because they are not passive. They are constantly interacting with and modifying their environment for their own purposes. This makes jobs like being a teacher frustrating because the teacher is expected to control children who are often not properly acculturated to effectively learn in a classroom setting.
Mao Zedong was a sadistic sociopath Communist, so I don't recommend emulating him too much. However he had an amazing knack for manipulating groups of people. His methods are worth studying since he made them work even when people were unwilling to be manipulated. Teachers as well as businesspeople are in an environment where they need to manipulate groups of people who are often unwilling to be manipulated.
Rent-seeking is behavior that provides money to an individual at the expense of someone else. It is not economically productive and it is far too heavily encouraged by our legal system. Maoism is based on rent-seeking behavior where the higher status people take from lower status people who are then allowed to die without concern from the State. It's a Ponzi scheme. Ponzi schemes are rent-seeking business models and that's why they are illegal in the USA.
Free advertising can be done simply by hanging out at coffee shops talking to people (this is what business cards are for). Notices can be stapled or taped to wooden telephone posts and the like.
Food stamps are in effect pre-paid expenses so therefore are good from the perspective of the accounting equation that is receiving them. They count as an Asset.
Education is a very bad thing from the perspective of the accounting equation because it is an expense. It is not an investment in financial terms because it does not increase Assets or Equity/Capital. In theory it will eventually increase Income but the equation does not take that into account.
6/21/13
When do people spend money? When they have it, impulsively. This is not the only time but it is often true. Offer services regularly so as to catch people when they're spending impulsively.
Should someone want to hire you, or the services of your business, they need to know about you. Advertising. Having to pay to advertise is frustrating because if I'm trying to earn money it's usually because I don't have any.
Some hypothetical businesses -
Driver. Necessary asset - car. Cell phone.
Restaraunt owner. Necessary asset - ability to pay the bills until the customers provide income.
Massage Therapist. Necessary asset - massage table. Also need business license and training. Skilled work. Problems with prostitution in the massage field leads to unpleasant encounters with slimy men who want happy endings. Craig's List charges for advertising for Therapeutic Services (and nothing else from what I can tell) probably because of the influence of prostitutes.
General Contactor. Need tools, equipment, vehicle, a contractor's license.
Pirate. Necessary Asset - pirate ship, weaponry.
Gangster. No assets needed to start.
Getting a job is different than running a business. A job means you are working in someone else's business. "Job creators" are people who can figure out a way to establish and make thrive a business which hires workers, who are the people who "have a job". A contractor hires tradesmen. A pirate captain hires pirates. A McDonald's franchise manager hires cooks and cashiers.
A business owner or manager is like an economic catalyst which makes spontaneous financial reactions occur more readily by arranging a convenient mechanism which passes through his metaphorical hands.
6/13/13
Procrastination is a major problem in running a business, even if that business is simply your own financial situation. Missed deadlines, missed opportunities, very bad. This is a very common problem. "Fortunately" one can still balance the accounting equation by using a negative capital value even if debts outweigh assets and are not being paid. This allows an individual to work on the problem mathematically even if their financial situation is completely out of control. This is a good thing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debits_and_credits#The_five_accounting_elements
Assets + Expenses = Equity/Capital + Liabilities + Income
Expenses and Income are modifiers to Equity/Capital.
A = C + (I - E) + L
In plain English, the total financial resources available to a business are 1) what the owner invests in the business and 2) what the business borrowed. When money comes in or goes out, the owner takes the hit in Capital loss or gain. Liabilities (aka debts) are not directly effected by whether the business is making money.
Ideally, A is the variable to maximize on the left while C is the variable to maximize on the right. L should be minimized; however increase in L provides an increase in A, so is not necessarily a bad thing.
In the five element equation, E is to be minimized and I is to be maximized so as to maximize C - the owner's Capital invested in the business measured in dollar units.
These dollar units used in accounting are not actual dollars; some of them are pieces of equipment worth a certain amount of dollars etc.
http://www.freechurchaccounting.com/basicaccounting.html
There are advantages and disadvantages of using a single entry bookkeeping system. The main advantage is the simplicity. It involves the simplest form of keeping records of financial transactions. Essentially the organization makes two lists, one of income received and one of expenses incurred.
In other words, single entry bookkeeping leaves out the amount of money invested in the business, any debts, and any equipment the business owns. It just records daily changes in C.
Example:
Let's imagine a new person being born. We'll call him Marvin. Marvin is born with a balace equation that is very simple. 0 = 0
Marvin's expenses and income are provided for by his parents presumably so his equation does not change until he gets a job or borrows money to go to school.
Let's say he gets a job that pays a thousand dollars a month. The first month's balance equation would become
A = C + (I - E) + L
1000 = 0 + (1000 - 0) + 0
Next month,
2000 = 1000 + (1000 - 0) + 0
If he gets internet access and a subscription to WoW (let's say they cost a hundred bucks together per month),
2900 = 2000 + (1000 - 100) + 0
If he borrows 25,000 dollars for school the next month while keeping his job and living with his Mom,
3,800 = 2,900 + (1,000 - 25,100) + 25,000
This means that he as a financial entity is worth $3,900 because he had $2,900 at the beginning of the month, earned $1,000, payed tuition worth 25,000 as well as WoW for $100, and borrowed $25,000. Next month Marvin's balance equation looks like this:
4,700 = (-22,200) + (1,000 - 100) + 25,000
Marvin technically has Assets worth 4,700 at the end of this month but negative Capital. This means he has $4,700 in cash but is in debt $25,000. Therefore his net worth is negative although he still has an income, is paying his video game expenses and has cash on hand.
If he were to buy a used car for $2,000, nothing would change, because both $2,000 in cash and a car worth $2,000 are recorded as Assets on the balance sheet.
6/3/13
Procedures for gaining and spending money are important. This is not necessarily obvious to people who do not grow up being taught such things. Procedures allow people to work toward a goal without having to reinvent the wheel every time.
Some of my procedures when unemployed (a time when procedures are especially important because of emotional stresses) include:
*Check e-mail, all three accounts - login and password need to be readily available, don't rely on automatic sign-in on cell phone or home computer
*Check cell phone, make sure it's charged, check messages
*Check Craig's List for job opportunities
*Follow up on job opportunities by sending an e-mail with resume
One trick I've learned is to avoid focussing on jobs which make applying difficult. Spamming resumes out is more effective in my experience than manually filling out every company's elaborate online application form. It is far, far more time efficient and less of a drain on my energy. There's no guarantee those online applications will lead to anything. However they're worth filling out if there are no other leads.
Procedures for spending money are also critical, because without these, even if money is acquired, the money gets spent impulsively on luxuries while the bills get ignored. It happens to lots of people including me.
Understanding the bank's procedures is also critical because they use subtleties in their procedures to screw ignorant common folks. For instance, they make enormous amounts of money on overdrafts, and the rules used to calculate whether an account overdraws and how many times it does so (thirty five bucks each time) are elaborate and counterintuitive. For example, if a person had fifty dollars in his account, and bought candy for a dollar with the ATM card, and then a lighter for a dollar with the ATM card separately, and then sixty dollars of gasoline separately, they are likely to get hit with THREE overdraft payments when they are only expecting one. Why? Because the bank's procedures are such that the sixty dollars of gasoline is processed first, even if it was the last of the three purchases. Therefore the sixty dollars of gasoline costs ninety five dollars, the one dollar candy costs thirty six dollars, and the one dollar lighter also costs thirty six dollars - even though when the candy and the lighter were purchased the account had fifty dollars in it.
I've always been uncomfortable talking about money. I grew up with the sense that it is shameful to ask for money, it is shameful to talk about one's financial troubles, and it is shameful to brag about having money on those occasions I had a little bit because it would make poor people feel bad.
However, our society is based around the fact that money is our official scoring system, and it is backed by force. We are de facto legally obligated to house ourselves in the USA at our own expense, but nobody is de facto required to make sure we can afford the rent. This is why we have homeless and why most peoples' lives are so full of stress; you can't miss paying the rent or the mortgage payment. If you do, the police will come after you. Land ownership in the modern capitalistic world is not equivalent to the sort of land ownership John Locke wrote about, and institutional ignorance of this subtlety is one of the causes of the myriad problems we have in society today.
6/5/10
I think there is profit to be made in shipping between Liberia and the American South due to the extremely powerful cultural connection between Liberia and Afro-Americans. As time goes on more money will enter the Afro-American community and Western Africa will settle down once there's profit to be made in being peaceful.
5/18/10
Stocks slide after euro falls to new 4-year low
By TIM PARADIS, Ap Business Writer
NEW YORK – Investors uneasy about the news coming out of Europe Tuesday went back to selling stocks sharply lower. The falling euro and news that German regulators plan to limit some kinds of short selling fed the drop.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100518/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street;_ylt=Agzxdrt2ol3mwCGpuNTCY8JnhVID;_ylu=X3oDMTMzM29vaml2BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNTE4L3VzX3dhbGxfc3RyZWV0BGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDNwRwb3MDNwRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrA3N0b2Nrc3NsaWRlYQ--
5/6/10
the jobs that many of these men, or those like them, once had in construction, factories and offices aren't coming back. "A good guess…is that when the economy recovers five years from now, one in six men who are 25 to 54 will not be working," Lawrence Summers, the president's economic adviser, said the other day.
This is not one of the many things that can be blamed on subprime lending, inept regulators or Goldman Sachs. "The Great Recession has reinforced prevailing labor market trends that were under way long before the recession," David Autor, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist, observed in a recent paper commissioned by two Democratic-leaning think tanks, the Center for American Progress and the Hamilton Project.
Demand for workers who haven't much education -- which includes many men, particularly minority-group men -- is waning. A shrinking fraction of them are working.
Meet the Unemployable Man
by David WesselSaturday, May 1, 2010
Provided by the Wall Street Journal
http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/109471/meet-the-unemployable-man?mod=career-work
EDIT 4/9/10
To paraphrase a few millionaires I met while they were trying to get me to buy water filters wholesale - the path to wealth involves selling products that require regular purchases from you to use; printers and ink; iPods which are designed to be hard to open so you have to hire their guys to open it and replace the expensive battery; and water filtration systems in which you have to replace the filter regularly.
See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence
A friend of a friend, who was a millionaire, supposedly said the path to wealth and leisure is owning housing and renting it out.
EDIT 3/27/10
Strong economy, work, make and save money. Weak economy or recession, spend money.
"I feel like a sex addict in a whorehouse!"
-Warren Buffet on the 2k recession.
He bought trains, because a recovering economy means movement of goods.
EDIT 3/28/10
Tech firms try to outperk one another
Silicon Valley companies hope to keep innovation flowing with freebies and fun, such as go-cart racing and cash prizes.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-fi-perks28-2010mar28,0,3505494.story?track=rss
EDIT 3/29/10
The Geography of Poverty and Wealth
http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cidinthenews/articles/Sciam_0301_article.html
EDIT 3/30/10
Geography and Economic Development: Some Empirical Findings
http://www.earth.columbia.edu/sitefiles/file/about/director/pubs/EMPFIND.pdf
EDIT 4/1/10
"A profession is a vocation founded upon specialised educational training, the purpose of which is to supply disinterested counsel and service to others, for a direct and definite compensation, wholly apart from expectation of other business gain. "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profession
New Statesman, 21 April 1917, article by the Webbs quoted with approval at paragraph 123 of a report by the UK Competition Commission, dated 8 November 1977, entitled Architects Services(in Chapter 7).
EDIT 4/5/10
The Best Jobs Report In a Long Time
by Hale "Bonddad" Stewart @ 9:16 AM
Article posted 4/3/10
...it's pretty obvious the recession is over...
From the BLS:
"Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 162,000 in March, and the unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Temporary help services and health care continued to add jobs over the month.
Employment in federal government also rose, reflecting the hiring of temporary workers for Census 2010. Employment continued to decline in financial activities and in information."
...It appears the unemployment rate has topped out in the 9.5%-10% range. While we're not seeing any downward momentum, we aren't seeing anymore strong upside moves either.
Also note the unemployment rate continues to be high for those with low educational achievement and low for those with high educational achievement:
Bachelor's or higher: 4.9% (this is near full employment from an economic perspective).
...the number of people entering the ranks of the unemployed continues to drop.
...The number of people unemployed for less than 5 weeks continues to drop.
...The number of people unemployed for [5-26] weeks is also dropping. However this number is still very high and will require a fair amount of time to get back to a "normal" level.
...The number of people unemployed for longer than 27 weeks is still increasing. The primary reason for this is a large percentage of job losses during the recession (over 70%) occurred in construction and manufacturing. Construction will never return to the levels seen in the last expansion and manufacturing is undergoing a productivity revolution where employees are being replaced by automation. As such, former construction and manufacturing employees will face an incredibly difficult job environment going forward.
...Those working part time for economic reasons increased 263,000.
...October of 2008 to March 2009 the economy lost over 600,000/month. That means that over a 5 month period the economy lost over 3 million jobs. In addition, remember that during the recession the economy lost all the jobs created in the last expansion:
...An economy that lost all of the jobs created in the previous expansion will not turn around and start adding 300,000 jobs/month anytime soon.
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/04/best-jobs-report-in-long-time.html
Race and Ethnicity (and Nationality) 12/21/11
12/21/11
1. Every human's matrileneal line comes from a single woman within a single population 200,000 years ago in Tanzania (other womens' sons contributed sperm though). [FACT based on mtDNA studies] 2. Today there are many women and womens' sons all over the planet in many different populations with many different cultures and races. [FACT based on linguistic and genetic cluster studies]. Therefore, 3. Humanity expanded from Tanzania over the last 200,000 years to all corners of the word, and in the process populations diverged from one another both in culture and biology.
4. Evolutionary Biology has convincingly demonstrated that biological diversification occurs when populations stop mating with one another (FACT, or at least FACT BASED THEORY based in biology). 5. Because of 3 and 4, clearly human populations did not mate freely with other human populations in the past, which led to the different races. 6. Humans will mate with anything they can hold down or at least won't run away or beat them up. (FACT, needs no support - just google "kink" 7. Race, a biological phenomenon, is overwhelmingly associated with continental/geographic regions...(genetic cluster analysis). 8. ...as well as self perceived ethnicity (genetic cluster analysis). 9. 5,6 and 7 all show that human populations stopped mating with one another back in the past due to geographic separation, creating the different races. OK. Race explained. Time for the next step; correlating race with mtDNA, ethnicity and culture...
10. Culture refers to all human phenomena that are not purely biological. (FACT by definition). 11. Ethnicity is a function of one's culture, i.e. one is ethnic because one possesses ethnic culture (FACT by definition). 12. Because of 8 and 11, we can see that race, which is equally biologically determined by both father and mother, is correlated closely with ethnicity, and therefore with culture, i.e. race, culture and ethnicity all correlate extremely closely. 13. mtDNA correlates extremely well with racial genetics.
Posted by me at
http://www.playtheimmortalgame.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=131051&page=1
Original -
The latest genetic cluster analysis (that I know of) indicates that yes, human races do exist in a biological sense (vs. race being an artificial label without biological support). There are five races:
1) European/Middle Eastern/Indian
2) East Asian
3) African
4) (Indigenous) American
5) Pacific Islander
Tang, et al: Genetic Structure, Self-Identified Race/Ethnicity, and Confounding in Case-Control Association Studies. Am J Hum Genet. 2005 February; 76(2): 268–275. Published online 2004 December 29.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1196372/
Ethnicity is different from race. Ethnicity describes what culture a person identifies herself as and is generally rooted in the history and culture of their family. Ethnicites overlap and are amorphous. Ethnicities include:
Ainu
British
"American" (USA, offshoot of British)
Aztec
Basque
Celt
Chicano (offshoot of Mexican)
Criollo (offshoot of Spanish)
Japanese (non Ainu)
Jewish
Han Chinese
English
Javanese
Mexican
Tongva/Chumash
Afro-American/"Black American"
Roma/"Gypsy"
Slav
Scandanavian
Spanish (offshoot of Latin/Roman)
Tongva
"Western" (European based)
Etc.
Ethnicities - which basically describe culture - can, I believe, be nested inside other ethnicities; an American might be of English descent, which is a Germanic culture, which is part of European culture. Or, a person might be American of slave descent, these slaves having come from a particular tribe in West Africa. Another Afro-American might be the child of Ethiopian or Eritrean immigrants, and which one it is matters; don't insult a person of Eritrean descent by calling him Ethiopian. The words of an eccentric fellow employee of mine in the past come to mind "these kids aren't Black, they're African American. Their parents came from Ethiopia. I'm Black. My ancestors were slaves." While this may or may not be an accurate quote in every detail, it is true that immigrant Africans are much, much different than Afro-Americans whose families have been here since the slave days. Not only that, east Africans have a different culture than West Africans, though both share African culture, some but not all of which might be shared with descendents of slaves...
EDIT 4/4/10 Nationality is a third category often confused with the other two. For example, an Israeli might be a white Jew; or perhaps a white Arab. There could be black Americans of Mexican ethnicity, or east asian Mexicans of (British-)American ethnicity. There are white South Africans of Boer ethnicity, etc.
6/15/10
(A response to a Comment below)
except for the East Asians along the east coast pretty much ALL Eurasians are the same race. The Huns, Mongols etc I think were racially "white". Within this West Eurasian race there are many ethnic divisions and even genetic variations, but not enough to qualify as separate races. For some reason the East Asians kept to themselves and diverged biologically...maybe they were a sea people and so had little in common with the steppe people. I suspect mtDNA haplogroup R roughly correlates with the Eurasian race and haplogroup F to the East Asians. Not quite sure though. Linguistically we can see the connection in the phrase "Indo-European" which further subdivides into Indo-Iranian (south Asian) and European. Religiously, we can see the clear influence of the Abrahamic religions, and the clear division between the south Asians (Islam), the Europeans (Christianity) with the parent religion, Judaism squeezed in the middle. However this does not explain the Hindu religion's place in India.
1. Every human's matrileneal line comes from a single woman within a single population 200,000 years ago in Tanzania (other womens' sons contributed sperm though). [FACT based on mtDNA studies] 2. Today there are many women and womens' sons all over the planet in many different populations with many different cultures and races. [FACT based on linguistic and genetic cluster studies]. Therefore, 3. Humanity expanded from Tanzania over the last 200,000 years to all corners of the word, and in the process populations diverged from one another both in culture and biology.
4. Evolutionary Biology has convincingly demonstrated that biological diversification occurs when populations stop mating with one another (FACT, or at least FACT BASED THEORY based in biology). 5. Because of 3 and 4, clearly human populations did not mate freely with other human populations in the past, which led to the different races. 6. Humans will mate with anything they can hold down or at least won't run away or beat them up. (FACT, needs no support - just google "kink" 7. Race, a biological phenomenon, is overwhelmingly associated with continental/geographic regions...(genetic cluster analysis). 8. ...as well as self perceived ethnicity (genetic cluster analysis). 9. 5,6 and 7 all show that human populations stopped mating with one another back in the past due to geographic separation, creating the different races. OK. Race explained. Time for the next step; correlating race with mtDNA, ethnicity and culture...
10. Culture refers to all human phenomena that are not purely biological. (FACT by definition). 11. Ethnicity is a function of one's culture, i.e. one is ethnic because one possesses ethnic culture (FACT by definition). 12. Because of 8 and 11, we can see that race, which is equally biologically determined by both father and mother, is correlated closely with ethnicity, and therefore with culture, i.e. race, culture and ethnicity all correlate extremely closely. 13. mtDNA correlates extremely well with racial genetics.
Posted by me at
http://www.playtheimmortalgame.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=131051&page=1
Original -
The latest genetic cluster analysis (that I know of) indicates that yes, human races do exist in a biological sense (vs. race being an artificial label without biological support). There are five races:
1) European/Middle Eastern/Indian
2) East Asian
3) African
4) (Indigenous) American
5) Pacific Islander
Tang, et al: Genetic Structure, Self-Identified Race/Ethnicity, and Confounding in Case-Control Association Studies. Am J Hum Genet. 2005 February; 76(2): 268–275. Published online 2004 December 29.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1196372/
Ethnicity is different from race. Ethnicity describes what culture a person identifies herself as and is generally rooted in the history and culture of their family. Ethnicites overlap and are amorphous. Ethnicities include:
Ainu
British
"American" (USA, offshoot of British)
Aztec
Basque
Celt
Chicano (offshoot of Mexican)
Criollo (offshoot of Spanish)
Japanese (non Ainu)
Jewish
Han Chinese
English
Javanese
Mexican
Tongva/Chumash
Afro-American/"Black American"
Roma/"Gypsy"
Slav
Scandanavian
Spanish (offshoot of Latin/Roman)
Tongva
"Western" (European based)
Etc.
Ethnicities - which basically describe culture - can, I believe, be nested inside other ethnicities; an American might be of English descent, which is a Germanic culture, which is part of European culture. Or, a person might be American of slave descent, these slaves having come from a particular tribe in West Africa. Another Afro-American might be the child of Ethiopian or Eritrean immigrants, and which one it is matters; don't insult a person of Eritrean descent by calling him Ethiopian. The words of an eccentric fellow employee of mine in the past come to mind "these kids aren't Black, they're African American. Their parents came from Ethiopia. I'm Black. My ancestors were slaves." While this may or may not be an accurate quote in every detail, it is true that immigrant Africans are much, much different than Afro-Americans whose families have been here since the slave days. Not only that, east Africans have a different culture than West Africans, though both share African culture, some but not all of which might be shared with descendents of slaves...
EDIT 4/4/10 Nationality is a third category often confused with the other two. For example, an Israeli might be a white Jew; or perhaps a white Arab. There could be black Americans of Mexican ethnicity, or east asian Mexicans of (British-)American ethnicity. There are white South Africans of Boer ethnicity, etc.
6/15/10
(A response to a Comment below)
except for the East Asians along the east coast pretty much ALL Eurasians are the same race. The Huns, Mongols etc I think were racially "white". Within this West Eurasian race there are many ethnic divisions and even genetic variations, but not enough to qualify as separate races. For some reason the East Asians kept to themselves and diverged biologically...maybe they were a sea people and so had little in common with the steppe people. I suspect mtDNA haplogroup R roughly correlates with the Eurasian race and haplogroup F to the East Asians. Not quite sure though. Linguistically we can see the connection in the phrase "Indo-European" which further subdivides into Indo-Iranian (south Asian) and European. Religiously, we can see the clear influence of the Abrahamic religions, and the clear division between the south Asians (Islam), the Europeans (Christianity) with the parent religion, Judaism squeezed in the middle. However this does not explain the Hindu religion's place in India.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
The Great Recession of the First Decade of the Second Millenium of the Common Era, Which Began Approximately When Jesus Was Alive Or Died Or Something
My prediction: Unemployment under 8% by 2012. Why? Recession's over and unemployment spikes seem symmetrical:
http://www.miseryindex.us/urbymonth.asp
The recession actually looks a lot like the one in the early '80s. That one went from 8% to 8% in a little over 3 years, hitting 10% along the way.
This can be exploited by hiring top talent now, or soon (like me!). Human capital is in high supply now but it will start to decrease in supply soon.
Other factors in consideration - Europe not looking so strong relative to USA any more with the problems in Greece and Spain, and Chinese growth being unsustainable due to environmental damage (loss of soil to erosion, polluted water, etc) and poor quality control (remember the poisoned baby formula?) fuelling the economic spike. China is getting stricter about these things which will slow their economy and if nothing else resources are getting used up unsustainably I suspect.
Not only will China's astounding growth slow, but the dollars they hold make it in their interest to build up the US economy, and my home state of California is the American gateway to Asia...which means the current financial collapse here in CA should be short term.
First posted by me at
http://www.playtheimmortalgame.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=128265&page=2
See also
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/03/60-minutes-michael-lewis-the-big-short/
EDIT - 3/23/10
"The main thing right now for the stock markets is that the issue [House of Representatives vote on "Health Care Reform") has FINALLY been resolved and everyone now knows what the new rules will be. I'm sure most businesses hated the uncertainly of not really knowing whether this thing would pass or not.
That being said, I agree - as the propsects for passing healthcare reform was growing increasingly certain, there was and is no evidence of investors fleeing in terror. "
http://www.miseryindex.us/urbymonth.asp
The recession actually looks a lot like the one in the early '80s. That one went from 8% to 8% in a little over 3 years, hitting 10% along the way.
This can be exploited by hiring top talent now, or soon (like me!). Human capital is in high supply now but it will start to decrease in supply soon.
Other factors in consideration - Europe not looking so strong relative to USA any more with the problems in Greece and Spain, and Chinese growth being unsustainable due to environmental damage (loss of soil to erosion, polluted water, etc) and poor quality control (remember the poisoned baby formula?) fuelling the economic spike. China is getting stricter about these things which will slow their economy and if nothing else resources are getting used up unsustainably I suspect.
Not only will China's astounding growth slow, but the dollars they hold make it in their interest to build up the US economy, and my home state of California is the American gateway to Asia...which means the current financial collapse here in CA should be short term.
First posted by me at
http://www.playtheimmortalgame.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=128265&page=2
See also
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/03/60-minutes-michael-lewis-the-big-short/
EDIT - 3/23/10
"The main thing right now for the stock markets is that the issue [House of Representatives vote on "Health Care Reform") has FINALLY been resolved and everyone now knows what the new rules will be. I'm sure most businesses hated the uncertainly of not really knowing whether this thing would pass or not.
That being said, I agree - as the propsects for passing healthcare reform was growing increasingly certain, there was and is no evidence of investors fleeing in terror. "
- Melanarpes
http://www.playtheimmortalgame.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=128320&page=2
EDIT - I'm having way too much fun with the title. Go nerds.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Chaos Magic
6/25/13
Some FACTS.
Marquis Aamon is a Marquis of Hell who governs forty infernal legions and the seventh Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He appears as a wolf with a serpent's tail who can breathe fire, or as a man with a raven's head, sometimes depicted with canine teeth. He tells of all things past and future. He procures feuds, and reconciles controversies between friends and foes.
Aaru, 'the reed fields' is the Egyptian paradise afterlife for those dead people whose souls are not weighed down by sin.
Abbadon is an angel of destruction. Vladamir Putin, President of Russia, was given this name when he joined the Russian 1%er gang Night Wolves. May be related to Apollo.
Abjuration is a formal renunciation.
Abracadabra ('I create as I speak') is an originally Aramaic sorcery incantation. The first known use of it was in 208 CE by Quintus Serenus Sammonicus, physician to Roman Emperor Severus, who used it to cure a fever. It is also said to ward off the plague.
Abraham was a man from Ur, in Sumeria (Iraq), whose religious and cultural tradition evolved into Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This is why they are called the Abrahamic religions. 2500 BCE
Abraxus is the name of the supreme god of the Basilidian sect of Gnostics. He is said to rule over 365 lesser gods; one for each day of the year. He is said to have serpents for feet and the head of a cockerel.
Abzu is the primal Babylonian god of fresh water. He mixed with Tiamat (probably in the Persian Gulf/Eden) to produce younger gods.
Acala (Sanskrit: "immovable") is a dharmapala primarily revered in Vajrayana Buddhism, particularly in Tangmi in Japan, China and elsewhere. He is classed among the Wisdom Kings and preeminent among the Five Wisdom Kings of the Womb Realm. Accordingly, his figure occupies an important hierarchical position in the pictorial diagramatic Mandala of the Two Realms. In Japan, Acala is revered in the Shingon Buddhism, Tendai, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism and in Shugendō. Acala is sometimes said to be a patron to the Shinobi and to have inspired their choice of swords.Descriptions of his physical appearance derive from such scriptural source as the Mahavairocana Tantra (大日経 Dainichikyō?) and its annotation. His face is expressive of extreme wrath, wrinkle-browed, left eye squinted or looking askance, lower teeth biting down the upper lip. He has the physique of a corpulent (round-bellied) child. He bears a straight sword in his right hand, and a lariat[3] or noose in his left hand. He is engulfed in flame, and seated on a huge rock base. Acala is said to be a powerful deity who protects all the by burning away all impediments antarāya (障難 shōnan?) and defilements, thus aiding them towards enlightenment. In Japanese esoteric Buddhism, according to an arcane interpretive concept known as the three cakra bodies (三輪身 san rinjin?)[1] Acala and the rest of the five wisdom kings are considered embodiments of the wheel of injunction (教令輪身 kyōryō tenshin?),[1] or beings whose actions constitute the teaching of the law (the other embodiments teach by word, or merely by their manifest existence). Under this conceptualization, the wisdom kings are ranked superior to the dharmapala (護法善神 gohō zenshin?), a different class of guardian deities. Nevertheless, this distinction sometimes fails to be asserted, or the two are openly treated as synonymous by many commentators, even in clearly Japanese religious contexts. The Sanskrit symbol that represents Acala is hāṃ हां, conventionally transliterated kān (カーン?). However, it has been confounded with the similar glyph (हूं hūṃ), prompting some commentators to mistakenly identify Acala with other deities. (The Sanskrit symbol is called a siddham (梵字?, bonji) or a bīja (種子 shuji?). Some of the other transliterations and variants to his name are Ācalanātha, Āryācalanātha, and Ācalavidyārāja. The Hindu form of the deity may also be known as Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa or Caṇḍaroṣaṇa "the violent-wrathful" one.
Acan is the Mayan god of alcohol.
Acheron is the cthonic river of pain in Greek myth. It is one of the five underground mythical rivers in the legends of Greece.
The Book of Acts is part of the Christian Bible which describes the life of Paul and how he organized the spread of the early Christian churches.
Adam was the first village in Western Civilization. It was located in Iraq or where the Persian Gulf is today. It is personified as the "first [civilized?] man" in Genesis.
Aenbharr was Lugh's magic horse that could walk on water.
Aeromancy in Latin means studying the clouds for mystical information. No flying or smiting with lightning bolts involved. In fact the common fantasy trope of the "magic-user" hurling lightning bolts is not based in historical legend at all. This is one of the Seven Forbidden Arts in the Rennaissance.
The Aegis is a legendary Greek shield owned by Athena. It is a fearsome thing with a surface of gold like scaly snake-skin, furnished with snake like golden tassels, and the Gorgoneion (Medusa's head) in the central boss - "a severed head rolling its eyes."
Aegishjalmarr is Odin's "Helm of Awe".
Aesir are one of the two groups of Germanic gods, associated with power, war and the mind. They are likely the same beings as the Hindu Asura.
Duke Agares is the second Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He rules the eastern zone of Hell, and is served by 31 legions of demons. He can make runaways come back and those who run stand still, finding pleasure in teaching immoral expressions. He also has the power to destroy dignities, both temporal and supernatural. He is depicted as a pale old man riding a crocodile.
Agni is the Hindu god of fire. The fictional character Dhalsim in the Street Fighter games worships Agni.
Ahriman is the "destructive spirit" in Zoroastrianism.
Aim (aka Aym or Haborym) is a Great Duke of Hell, very strong, and rules over twenty-six legions of demons. He is the twenty third Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He sets cities, castles and great places on fire, makes men witty in all ways, and gives true answers concerning private matters. He is depicted as a man (handsome to some sources), but with three heads, one of a serpent, the second of a man, and the third of a cat to most authors, although some say of a calf, riding a viper, and carrying in his hand a lit firebrand with which he sets the requested things on fire.
Ajdaha is a Persian dragon.
Akaname ("Filth-Licker") is a small red Japanese creature that lives in dirty bathrooms.
An Ala (plural: ale or hali) is a female mythological creature recorded in the folklore of Bulgarians, Macedonians, and Serbs. Ale are considered demons of bad weather whose main purpose is to lead hail-producing thunderclouds in the direction of fields, vineyards, or orchards to destroy the crops, or loot and take them away. Extremely voracious, ale particularly like to eat children, though their gluttony is not limited to Earth. It is believed they sometimes try devouring the Sun or the Moon, causing eclipses, and that it would mean the end of the world should they succeed. When people encounter an ala, their mental or physical health, or even life, are in peril; however, her favor can be gained by approaching her with respect and trust. Being in a good relationship with an ala is very beneficial, because she makes her favorites rich and saves their lives in times of trouble. The appearance of an ala is diversely and often vaguely described in folklore. A given ala may look like a black wind, a gigantic creature of indistinct form, a huge-mouthed, humanlike, or snakelike monster, a female dragon, or a raven. An ala may also assume various human or animal shapes, and can even possess a person's body.
Alchemy is named by Arabs and Greeks though the tradition began in Egypt. This is primitive chemistry. Similar traditions rose independently in India and China. I speculate that alchemical methods were used by Druids and Thamaturgists when they called down fire on their enemies.
Alfar is a name for the Elves. Frey is their god.
Alfheim is the land of the Elves. The province named Alfheim in Sweden may or may not be the same place.
Allocer, the fifty second entry in the Ars Goetia, is a demon whose title is Great Duke of Hell, and who has thirty-six legions of demons under his command. He induces people to immorality and teaches arts and all mysteries of the sky. He appears in the shape of a knight mounted on an enormous horse. His face has leonine characteristics; he has a ruddy complexion and burning eyes; and he speaks with much gravity. He is said to provide good familiars, and to teach astronomy and liberal arts. Allocer is often depicted riding a horse with dragon legs.
Almace was Bishop Turpin's sword.
Amaguk is an Inuit wolf god.
Ama no Zako (天逆毎, "heaven opposing everything", or 天狗神, "tengu deity") is a monstrous goddess mentioned in the Kujiki, an ancient Japanese text, which states that she originated when Susanoo let his own ferocious spirit build up inside him until he vomited her out. This deity has a furious temper, a beastly head with a long nose, long ears, and great fangs so strong they can chew metal blades ragged, and to be capable of flying for a thousand ri.
Ama no Uzume is the Japanese Kami of amusement.
Amasagnul is the Assyrian goddess who is consort to Papsukkal.
Amaterasu ("Shining in Heaven") is the Japanese sun goddess. The Japanese Emperor is said to be her direct descendant.
Amaymon is a Prince of Hell. He is said to be the only one who has power over Asmodai. A curious characteristic of this Spirit is shown during the Evocation of Asmodai to visible appearance, when the Exorcist must stand upright with his Cap or Headdress removed in a show of respect; for if he does not it is Amaymon who will deceive him and doom all his work. Amaymon is said to have a deadly poisonous breath. To evoke Amaymon the Exorcist or Conjurer must be in possession of a Silver Ring, duly consecrated and worn on the middle finger as a form of protection against his poisonous astral breath. Possibly King of the West, or of the East, or neither. He is one of the eight Sub-Princes, described as an Egyptian devil whom Abramelin restrained from working evil from the third hour till noon and from the ninth till evening.
Amber was thought the be the tears of the Heliads or Freya in Greek or Germanic mythology respectively. It was also said to be the solidified urine of the Lynx or petrified sperm from seals or dolphins. Because it is easily negatively charged by rubbing, amber was also associated with electricity.
Amdusias, sixty seventh Demon in the Ars Goetia, has 29 legions of demons and spirits under his command and has the rank of Great King. He is depicted as a human with claws instead of hands and feet, the head of a unicorn, and a trumpet to symbolize his powerful voice. Amdusias is associated with thunder and it has been said that his voice is heard during storms. In other sources, he is accompanied by the sound of trumpets when he comes and will give concerts if commanded, but while all his types of musical instruments can be heard they cannot be seen. He is regarded as being the demon in charge of the cacophonous music that is played in Hell. He can make trees bend at will.
Amelouith was a water demon who claimed to have empowered Egypt's 'magicians' to work their wonders. Solomon enslaved him with Michael's Ring.
Ame no Tachikaroo is the Japanese Kami of brute strength.
Amma is the sky god of the Dogon people in West Africa.
Ammit is an Egyptian dragon goddess that devours those whose hearts are weighed down by sin after death.
Amon-Ra was the Egyptian name for the monotheistic God.
Amulets are a type of protective magical device.
Amy is the fifty eighth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is a great president, and appears in a flame of fire, but having taken man's shape, he makes one marvelous in astrology, and in all the liberal sciences, he procures excellent familiars, he bewraieth [?] treasures preserved by spirits, he has the government of thirty six legions, he is partly of the order of angels, partly of potestats [?], he hopes after a thousand two hundred years to return to the seventh throne: which is not credible.
Ananta Sheshna is the Vedic thousand headed king of serpents. Vishnu sits on him.
An Anachitis ("Stone of Necessity") is a stone used by Magi to call up spirits of the water (undines?).
The Anakim were a race of people who were so strong looking they struck terror into the hearts of the Israelites. The Philistines were said to descend from them.
Anânêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
'Anat is a northwest Semitic virgin war goddess.
Andras is a Grand Marquis of Hell, having under his command thirty legions of demons. He is the sixty third Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He sows discord among people. Andras appears with a winged angel's body and the head of an owl or raven, riding upon a strong black wolf and wielding a sharp and bright saber. Andras was considered to be a highly dangerous demon, who could kill the conjuring magician and his assistants if precautions were not taken. A misstep outside the magical protective circle could mean instant death for the conjurer(s), and Andras was always trying to lure them out. He teaches those whom he favors to kill their enemies, masters and servants.
Andrealphus, the sixty fifth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia, is a great Marquis with the appearance of a Peacock who raises great noises and teaches cunning in astronomy, and when in human form also teaches geometry in a perfect manner. He is also described as ruling over thirty legions and as having the ability to turn any man into a bird. He can make men subtle in all things pertaining to Mensuration, among other things.
Andromalius ("Man of Evil") is the seventy second and last entry in the Ars Goetia. He is a mighty Great Earl of Hell, having thirty-six legions of demons at his service. He can bring back both a thief and the stolen goods, punishes all thieves and other wicked people, and discovers hidden treasures, all evilness, and all dishonest dealing. Andromalius is depicted as a man holding a big serpent in his hand.
Andvaranaut is a cursed ring in Nordic mythology. It makes gold, but it brings ruin to the owner. This ring may have caused Fafnir's transformation into a dragon.
Angelica is a powerful herb known to Wizardry.
Angels are messengers for God.
Angel-like Demons are Jewish religious demons who follow Jewish religion and sometimes work with humans via Kabbalah. Their King is Asmodeus, the King of Lust. They can be commanded with Michael's Ring.
Anima is the Greek word for the spirit of life which animates living things.
Animism is the religious belief that all things have spirits. It is often said to be the ancestor of polytheism.
The Ankh, a cross with a loop for a top, is the Key to the Land of the Dead in Egyptian mythology. It may represent a hand mirror.
Antaeus (Ἀνταῖος) was a Libyan god, son of Poseidon and Gaia, who wrestled all visitors to the death until he was slain by Heracles, who defeated Antaeus by lifting him off the ground.
Anu is the Sumerian name for the Father in Heaven.
Anubis is an Egyptian god associated with the Egyptian Jackal (wolf subspecies). He is the son of Set and Nephthys. When Socrates swore oaths "by the Dog" this is who he meant.
Ao is a large marine turtle in Chinese mythology. He was thought to have lived in the South China Sea during the time of the formation of the world. When the goddess Nüwa, creator of mankind, was repairing the sky after a disaster, she chopped off Ao’s four legs and used them as supports. It is said that Ao still lives and resides in the Bohai Sea, where he carries the three islands of the Eight Immortals (Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou) upon his back.
Apep is a giant cosmic dragon in Egyptian mythology whose attempts to devour the sun are the cause of solar eclipses.
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of erotic love. The month of April may have been named after her.
Apollo, the Destroyer, is the Greek name for the god of sunlight. Sunlight burns and causes cancer, so Apollo is named for the Greek word for destruction, apollyon.
Apollonius of Tyana was a famous sorcerer who lived between 40 CE and 120 CE in the Greek region of the world.
Apotropaic spells are those which ward away danger.
Aradia is a book about Italian sorcery.
Arâkîba is listed in the Book of Enoch as one of the leaders of the Watchers.
Araqiel is according to the book of Enoch one of the leaders of the 200 fallen angels who commenced in unnatural union with human women, and who taught forbidden knowledge; specifically, Araqiel taught humans "the signs of the Earth". In the Sibylline Oracles Araqiel is referred to as one of the five angels who lead the souls of men to judgement, the other four being Ramiel, Uriel, Samiel, and Azazel.
The Areadbhar is a spear owned by Lugh which was given to him by the King of Persia. This spear had a flaming head which had to be kept immersed in water when not in use.
Ares is the Greek name for the personification of war. Sparta gloried in his power, as Rome did that of Mars. However Sparta kept the statue of Ares chained up in a dungeon, showing that they understood that war needs to be kept under strict control even by warriors. The Romans forgot that lesson but Jesus reminded them.
Arges is the name of a Greek cyclops.
Arianrhod ("Silver Wheel") is the British goddess of the dawn and the northern circumpolar stars.
Armaros is a Watcher who taught men the resolving of enchantments (Enoch I).
Artaius is a Gaulish bear god.
Artemis is the Greek name for the virgin Huntress goddess of the moonlight. She is Apollo's twin sister and is known for her silvery arrows. Paul ran afoul of her cult in Ephesus as can be read in the Book of Acts. Paul's letter to Timothy, often quoted for it's instructions not to let women teach, should always be read with the understanding that Timothy's church was in a town dominated by the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Romans knew her as Diana.
Aruru is the goddess who created Enkidu from clay in Sumerian legend.
Asâêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Asatru is Nordic paganism.
Asgard is the realm in which the Aesir live.
Asmodeus/Asmodai is the half human Demon King of Lust (Book of Tobit, Kabbalah) and the thirty second Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. King Solomon tricked him into helping build the Temple. It is said he is the King of the Angel-like Demons of Kabbalah. He is said to have a seal in gold and is strong, powerful and appears with three heads; the first is like a bull, the second like a man, and the third like a ram; the tail of a serpent, and from his mouth issue flames of fire. He sits upon an infernal dragon, holds a lance with a banner and governs seventy two legions of inferior spirits.
An Aspergillum is a holy water sprinkler.
Assassin was a disrespectful name used to refer to an order of Shi-ite elite warriors and killers. When they killed a Mongol Khan, the Mongols eradicated the Assassins and razed their fortresses.
Astaroth is a Duke of Hell and the twenty ninth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is depicted as a nude man with feathered wings, wearing a crown, holding a serpent in one hand, and riding a beast with dragon-like wings and a serpent-like tail. He is a demon of the First Hierarchy, who seduces by means of laziness, vanity, and rationalized philosophies. His adversary is St. Bartholomew, who can protect against him for he has resisted Astaroth's temptations. To others, he teaches mathematical sciences and handicrafts, can make men invisible and lead them to hidden treasures, and answers every question formulated to him. He was also said to give to mortal beings the power over serpents. His name is possibly related to that of the goddess Astarte.
Astarte is the Greek name for Ishtar.
The Astral Plane is the name for a sort of spirit realm.
Astral Projection is a method of travelling spiritually out of one's material body.
Astrology is similar to Persian Magic. It is the mystical study of the stars.
Asuras are Hindu gods. They are probably the same as the Nordic Aesir.
Atargatis is an Assyrian mermaid goddess.
An Athame is a Witch's ritual dagger.
Attar is a Canaanite god and the personifiication of the "morning star" (the planet Venus seen from Earth in the morning). His story is related to that told in Isaiah 14:12, in some translations of which he is called Lucifer, "the shining one". He tries to usurp the throne of Baal Hadad but fails to rule.
Athena is the Greek virgin goddess of olives, owls, wisdom and strategy.
Augury is the Roman technique of watching birds for omens.
Aum Shinrikyu is a Japanese cult that released Sarin nerve gas in the subways of Japan. It was known for exceptional displays of happiness, claims of levitation and the color blue.
Auðumbla is the Nordic divine cow that licked Buri free of primordial ice.
Auras are mystical or spiritual radiation that reflect the nature of the person, place or object that the aura emanates from.
In Greek mythology, the Aurai are the winged nymphs of the breezes, daughters of Boreas, the god of the north wind, Eurus, the god of the east wind, Zephyrus, the god of the west wind, or Notus, the god of the south wind. Most have dragonfly wings, and the traditional elf-like ears of Nymphs.
Avebury is a mystical stone circle in Britain.
Az is a demon of greed.
Azazel is a word that means, or the personification of, "absolute removal". He accepts sacrifices that God does not want (Leviticus 16). It is said that he taught men to make knives, swords, shields, and how to devise ornaments and cosmetics. In the Sibylline Oracles Azazel is referred to as one of the five angels who lead the souls of men to judgement.
Baal (or Bel, "Lord") is a title of Semitic deities. A Baal was worshipped in Ekron, a Philistine city.
Baba Yaga is a Slavic witch-goddess. She flies about in an herbalist's mortar, steering with the pestle, and lives in a hut that has chicken legs (probably inspired by Slavic granaries build over two trees). Her yard is fenced in with human bones.
Bacchus is a Roman god of wine and intoxication. He is the Roman version of Dionysus.
Badb is a Celtic "war crow" goddess.
King Bael is the first of the Demons listed in the Ars Goetica. Bael is the head of the infernal powers and first king of Hell with estates in the east. He has three heads: a toad, a man, and a cat. He also speaks in a raucous, but well formed voice, and commands 66 legions. Bael teaches the art of invisibility.
Bahamut is an inconceivably enormous fish that holds up the world in Arabic folklore.
Balaam was a diviner whose story is told in the book of Numbers.
A Balaur ("Beast") is a type of Romanian dragon. Generally it has fins and feet and is often multi headed. Its saliva is said to form precious stones.
Balam (also Balaam, Balan) is the fifty first Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a great and powerful king of Hell who commands over forty legions of demons. He gives perfect answers on things past, present, and to come, and can also make men invisible and witty. Balam is depicted as being three-headed. One head is the head of a bull, the second of a man, and the third of a ram. He has flaming eyes and the tail of a serpent. He carries a hawk on his fist and rides a strong bear while naked. His name seems to have been taken from Balaam, the Biblical diviner.
Baldr is a Nordic god and the son of Frigg. He is the god of light. His mother Frigg made everything in the world except mistletoe swear never to harm Baldr.
Balmung (or Nothung) is a Nordic legendary sword. Siegfried chose it to replace his sword Gram.
Banshees are mystical keeners in Gaelic legend. Keeners are women who scream to mourn the dead. Banshees, or Bean-Sidhe (literally woman-spirit) are ghostly keeners who scream over deaths that have not yet happened. This legend may be related to the fact that keeners were often the first ones to know that someone died and would cry out before anyone else knew.
Baphomet is how a Crusader named Anselm of Ribemont wrote the name "Muhammed" which he heard Muslims refer to when they were worshipping. It has also been said that this name comes from the Greek "Baphe Metis" which means "bathed in wisdom" but this is likely a false etymology (though Muhammed was probably a very wise man). Baphomet was a powerful symbol of non-Christianity in the eyes of medieval Christians. The Knights Templar were disbanded and their Grand Master burned at the stake because of alleged Baphomet worship.
The Baptist Church is a Protestant church that during the First Great Awakening tended to have a "New White" congregation.
Baraqiel (Aramaic: ברקאל, Greek: Βαρακιήλ, "Lighting of God") is the 9th Watcher of the 20 leaders of the 200 fallen angels that are mentioned in the Book of Enoch. It has been said that Baraqiel taught men astrology during the days of Jared/Yered.
Duke Barbatos is an Earl and Duke of Hell and the eighth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He rules thirty legions of demons and has four kings as his companions to command his legions. He gives the understanding of the voices of the animals, says past and future, conciliates friends and rulers, and he can lead men to hidden treasures that have been hidden by the enchantment of magicians. His name seems to derive from Latin 'barbatus', bearded, old man, philosopher
President Barbas (or Marbas) is the fifth demon described in the Ars Goetia. He is described as the Great President of Hell governing thirty-six legions of demons. He answers truly on hidden or secret things, causes and heals diseases, teaches mechanical arts, and changes men into other shapes. He is depicted as a great lion that, under the conjurer's request, changes shape into a man.
Bards are Celtic users of poetry and song. Skalds are the Nordic equivalent. There is enormous supernatural power in witty ridicule, glorification, historical instruction through stories, and the like. Court Jesters or Fools probably evolved from the Bardic tradition as Celts became the Third Estate of peasants in the medieval social structure.
Barghests are north English spirit dogs with black fur and large claws and teeth. They were often said to be able to shapeshift.
The Basilisk is a serpent so deadly either its venom or its gaze would kill. The weasel is its natural enemy. The head of the Basilisk has a crest or "crown" and it leaves a trail of venom behind it as it slithers along. Basilisks are hatched by roosters from the eggs of serpents or toads.
Bast is the Egyptian cat goddess.
Batârêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Bathin is the eighteenth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a Great Duke of Hell, who has under his command thirty legions of demons. He knows the virtues of precious stones and herbs, and can bring men suddenly from one country to another. He helps one attain astral projection, and takes you wherever you want to go. He is depicted as a strong man with the tail of a serpent, riding a pale horse.
Lady Bathory was known as the witch of Cachtice. She lived sometime in the early 1600’s and was the most notorious witch of Eastern Europe, probably that of the world. There existed an infamous trial against her; she, along with a couple of her maids, was accused of torturing and murdering young Slovak girls. According to the witnesses, none of her servants was allowed to enter her secret chambers, except for four of her maids. Witnesses could hear chains clattering from those rooms. Once, one of the witnesses stepped in the secret chamber, and, to her horror, she could see the Lady tormenting young girls, cutting them, burning them with red-hot iron, and beating them. There was so much blood spilled that they were walking in blood up to the ankles, and the Lady needed to change her gown. Lady Bathory was also accused of witchcraft and blasphemy, supposedly she wanted to harm her enemies by black magic. The Lady was never convicted officially; she was ordered not to leave her castle in Cachtice ever again. One of her maids had died by the time the trial occurred, the other three – Ilona, Dorottya, and Katalin – were tormented and executed by inquisitors; their nails were ripped off by iron tools, after that, their fingers, too, their bodies crushed, so, naturally, they were ready to testify against the Lady. Some of the Lady’s biographers say she was a sadistic psychopath; if the world had heard about her earlier, the word sadism would be bathorism today. However, other historians say that she, coming from a very rich and powerful noble family, had influential enemies who wanted her properties for themselves.
Bayard was a magical French horse with hooves that could split stone and the ability to change size to fit his rider(s). He could carry at least four knights at a time.
Baykok ("Skeletal") is a malevolent spirit from North American tradition (specifically Algonquin people of the Great Lakes area). It is said to appear as an extremely emaciated skeleton-like figure, with thin translucent skin and glowing red points for eyes. The Baykok only preys upon warriors, but does so ruthlessly, using invisible arrows or beating its prey to death with a club. The Baykok, after paralyzing or killing its prey, then devours the liver of its victim.
Beelzebub ("Lord of Flies") is the Baal (Semitic "Lord" god) of Ekron. This name is in the Greek tradition of Myiagros who wards away flies and the decay that they are associated with.
The Bear is the symbol of Russia. It is also two constellations; Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
Behemoth is an old Semitic word for Elephant. What is translated as a "tail" in most Bibles is really his enormous penis. In Jewish mythology it is the archetype of the great beast on land.
Belenus is the Celtic god of the Sun-chariot.
Beleth (also spelled Bilet, Bileth and Byleth) is a mighty and terrible king of Hell, who has eighty-five legions of demons under his command. He is the thirteenth Demon in the Ars Goetia. He rides a pale horse, and all kind of music is heard before him. It is said that Ham, Noah's son, was the first in invoking him after the flood, and wrote a book on Mathematics with his help. When appearing he looks very fierce to frighten the conjurer or to see if he is courageous. The conjurer must be brave, and holding a hazel wand in his hand must draw a triangle by striking towards the South, East, and upwards, and command Beleth into it by means of some conjurations. If he does not obey, the conjurer must rehearse all threats the conjurations said. Then, Beleth will obey and do all that he is commanded, but the conjurer must be respectful and pay homage unto Beleth due to his rank, and hold a silver ring in the middle finger of the left hand against his face, as it is the use of hellish kings and princes before Amaymon. Beleth gives all the love of men and women he is commanded until the conjurer is satisfied.
Belial is a Hebrew word that means "without worth". It is personified as a spirit, demon or god of worthlessness. Belial is listed as the sixty-eighth spirit of the Ars Goetia. In that text he is described as a King of Hell with 80 legions of demons under his command.
Bells are associated with warding away hostile spirits and summoning thunderstorms.
Bell, Book and Candle are used in Excommunication.
Bellerophon ("Beast Killer") is the hero who killed Chimera while riding Pegasus.
Belobog is a Russian god of light and tolerant benevolence.
Beltane is the Celtic beginning of summer. It is named after the sun god Belenus.
Bendigeidfran's Cauldron was said to return the dead to life, but without the ability to speak. This is the origin of the legend of "the Black Cauldron".
Beowulf is a hero of the Geats and the name of a famous English poem about the titular hero.
Beowulf's second sword was used when his first sword, Hrunting, was unable to harm Grendel's mother. This second sword allowed him to kill her. Unfortunately her blood destroyed the blade. The hilt was engraved with legendary images.
Bergelmir is Thrudgelmir's son and Ymir's grandson.
Berith, whose name means 'He who binds to the covenant' in Hebrew and Akkadian, is the twenty eighth Demon in the Ars Goetia. He is a Great Duke of Hell, powerful and terrible, and has twenty-six legions of demons under his command. He tells things of the past, present and future with true answers; he can also turn all metals into gold, give dignities to men and confirm them. He speaks with a clear and subtle voice, but lies when not directly answering questions. To speak with him the conjurer must wear a silver ring and put it before his face in the same form as it is needed in Beleth's and Amaymon's cases. He is depicted as a soldier wearing red clothes, a golden crown, and riding a red horse. His power is stronger in June. To some he suggests murder and blasphemy. It is said that his adversary is St.Barnabas. His name is seen in the Book of Judges (8:33, 9:4, 9:46) and may have been the origin of the name of the city of Beirut.
Berserkers were a class of Germanic warriors named for the bear-shirts they wore in battle. They were a sort of pagan religious warrior inspired by Odin, the god of the ecstatic state of mind, to become hyper ferocious in battle.
Bes is an Egyptian god who is the Protector of the Household.
Bezaliel ("Shadow of God") is the 13th of 20 Watcher leaders listed in the Book of Enoch.
Bible ("Book") is the collected sacred texts of the Christian religion. It overlaps with Jewish and Islamic scriptures.
Bifrons is a the forty sixth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and an Earl of Hell, with six legions of demons under his command. He teaches sciences and arts, the virtues of the gems and woods, herbs, and changes corpses from their original grave into other places, sometimes putting magick lights on the graves that seem candles. He appears as a monster, but then changes his shape into that of a man. The origin of the name is the Roman god Janus.
Bishops are high ranking Catholic Priests.
Bixies are Chinese turtle-dragons often used as statues for good luck.
Black is a color associated with cthonic gods in Classical mythology.
The Black Tortoise is a Chinese turtle like dragon associated with the north.
Blasting is cursing crops, people and animals.
The Blood Curse (on the Jewish people) is a Christian interpretation of Matthew 27:25 - "At that all the people said in answer: 'Let his [Jesus'] blood come upon us and upon our children.'". This interpretation has historically inspired a lot of Christian prejudice and discrimination against Jews.
The Blood Eagle is a pagan Viking method of ritual sacrifice in which the lungs are pulled out of a person's back so they look like wings.
The Blood Qu'ran of Saddam Hussein is a Qu'ran that is said to be written in Saddam's blood. Writing a Qu'ran in blood is forbidden in Islam, making this a very sinister artifact. There is of course also the possibility that Hussein used his victims' blood instead of or in addition to his own...
The Blót was a Norse pagan animal sacrifice.
Jean Bodin was a French hater of witches and expert on witchcraft. He wrote De la Demonomanie des Sorciers.
Bodies are the physical part of person. In the Christian paradigm Jesus was God's body. He needed a body to be martyred and therefore overcome the power of human sacrifice to pagan gods. Even though Jesus died, God's spirit lives on. Killing Jesus did not get rid of him - it got rid of Mars and Caesar worship, at least in the form of the dominant god. Mars and Caesar had to submit to the Father in Heaven eventually because of Jesus' sacrifice.
Bogeymen ("scary men") are frightening manlike monster spirits from the Nordic and/or Celtic lands.
Bokors, or users of Bo, are West African wielders of frightening supernatural power. This tradition is less focussed on divination than some others but instead uses their power to harm people. Bokor (and not Necromancy, and not Voudou) is the tradition that invented Zombies. Zombies are actually living people who have been transformed into half-dead, near mindless servants through a process of hypnotism and long term application of nerve poisons. If there ever really were a Zombie Apocalypse, killing the Zombies would be murder, and don't blame the Necromancers or the Voudoun either. It's the Bokors you gotta hunt down. They are also known for curses e.g. Bokor can be hired to curse slaves so that the slaves will be too afraid to escape.
The Bonnacon is a fabulous animal from Asia. It has the mane of a horse, but in all other respects resembles a bull; its horns are curved back in such a manner as to be of no use for fighting, and it is said that because of this it saves itself by running away, meanwhile emitting a trail of dung that sometimes covers a distance of as much as three furlongs (600 m), contact with which scorches pursuers like a sort of fire. It is probably based on some sort of bison.
Boreas is the Greek god of the north wind.
Botis is the seventeenth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a Great President and Earl of Hell, commanding sixty legions of demons. He tells of all things past and future, and reconciles friends and foes. He is depicted as an ugly viper, but when he changes shape, he puts himself in human shape, with big teeth and two horns. When in human shape he carries a sharp and bright sword in his hand.
The Boxers were Chinese kung-fu Invokers who rebelled against the British in 1899 in the famous Boxer Rebellion.
The Brass Serpent of Moses could cure poison. It was destroyed when people began to worship it as an idol.
Brigid is a Celtic goddess of fire and smithing. She is also honored as a Saint.
Brontes is the Greek personification of Thunder. He is a cyclops.
Brujas are Hispanic witches.
Brunnhilde is a Valkyrie.
A Buddha is a person who has become enlightened. The concept comes from India.
President Buer is a the tenth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is a spirit that appears in the 16th century grimoire Pseudomonarchia Daemonum and its derivatives, where he is described as a Great President of Hell, having fifty legions of demons under his command. He appears when the Sun is in Sagittarius. Buer teaches Natural and Moral Philosophy, Logic, and the virtues of all herbs and plants. He also heals all infirmities, especially of men, and gives good familiars. He is depicted in the shape of Sagittarius, which is as a centaur with a bow and arrows. Additionally, Louis Le Breton created an illustration of Buer, later engraved by M. Jarrault, depicting the demon as having the head of a lion and five goat legs.
Bugbears ("scary bears") are creepy bear spirits found in Britain.
The Bull is the symbol of Spain. It is sometimes a symbol for England as well (as a reference to John Bull).
The Bull of Heaven was sent by Ishtar to punish Gilgamesh for rejecting her, but it was slain in the attempt.
The Bulldog is the symbol of England.
Buné, the twenty sixth entry in the Ars Goetia, is a Great Duke of Hell, mighty and strong, who has thirty legions of demons under his command. He changes the place of the dead and makes them demons that are under his power to gather together upon those sepulchres. Buné makes men eloquent and wise, and gives true answers to their demands and also richness. He speaks with a comely high voice. Buné is depicted as a three-headed dragon, being his heads like those of a dog, a griffin, and a man.
Bunny-men are illustrated in quite a few medieval manuscripts. Based on the images, they are ferocious and skilled with various weapons.
Bunyips are mysterious Australian water-beasts of legend.
Búri is the Nordic god who is grandfather to Odin. He was licked free from Ymir's ice by a cosmic cow named Auðumbla.
Cabeza de Vaca was a Spanish explorer in the New World who became a shaman in the indigenous traditions of North America.
Caelus is the Roman name for the sky titan known to the Greeks as Uranus.
Cain was the first murderer. His story is described in the Bible.
Caissa is the goddess of chess.
Cakes and Wine is a Wiccan ritual.
Caledbolg was Irish legend Fergus mac Roich's sword. The name may be related to that of Excalibur.
Callisto was a Greek nymph and sworn virgin priestess of Artemis. Zeus impregnated her and Artemis turned her into a bear and set her in the heavens as a constellation.
Calypso (Καλυψώ, "Concealer") was a nymph in Greek mythology who lived on the island of Ogygia, where she detained Odysseus for several years. She is generally said to be the daughter of Atlas the Titan. Hesiod mentions either a different Calypso or the same Calypso as one of the Oceanid daughters of Tethys and Oceanus, and Pseudo-Apollodorus as one of the Nereids daughters of Nereus and Doris.
Camaxtli is the Tlaxcalan patron god. He may be the same as the Mexican gods Mixcoatl and/or Xipe Totec.
A Cambion is a person born to a mortal mother with an Incubus father. Since Incubi cannot generate life, they must change to Succubi, couple with a man, store his seed and release it into a woman in Incubus form to make a Cambion. Merlin was said to be a Cambion.
Camio is the fifty third Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a Great President of Hell, ruling over thirty legions of demons. Much detail is offered: he is a good disputer, gives men the understanding of the voices of birds, bullocks, dogs, and other creatures, and of the noise of the waters too, and gives true answers concerning things to come. He appears in the form of the black bird called a thrush, but soon he changes his shape into a man that has a sharp sword in his hand. When answering questions he seems to stand on burning ashes or coals. The title 'President' of Hell would suggest a parallel with the presiding officer of a college or convocation, which are the only pre-modern uses of the term. Camio's name seems to be taken from the biblical first murderer, Cain.
Candles are used in many ritual traditions. A common example is lighting a candle in a church as part of a minor prayer ritual.
The Canon Episcopi claimed to have knowledge of witches.
Cardinals are very high ranking Catholic Priests. They select the Popes from their ranks.
Carnwennan, "Little White Hilt" was King Arthur's dagger. ~400 CE. He used it to slice the Very Black Witch in half (Culhwch and Olwen)
Catequil is the Incan god of thunder and lightning.
Catoblepas are an Ethiopian legendary herbivore the size of a bull which has a head so heavy it cannot lift it. If it ever did lift it's head, the gaze (or breath) of the sluggish beast would kill anyone meeting it.
Cauldrons are commonly used in Celtic Druidism.
The Celtic Cross is a modification of the swastika. Celts put iron rims on their tires to make their war chariots stronger and more terrifying and so their cross has a rim.
Centaurs are half man, half horse. They probably represent Asian cavalry as seen from the eyes of pre-cavalry Greeks. In legend they came from the coupling of Ixion and Nephele.
Cerberus is a three headed dog with a serpent's tail, a mane of snakes, and a lion's claws born of Typhon and Echidna. He guards Hades, the underworld, to keep the dead in and the living out. One of his heads sees the past, one the present, and the third the future. Herakles once subdued Cerberus and dragged him out of Hades to the surface as one of his famous Labors.
Ceres is the Roman name for Demeter.
The Cerne Giant is a huge carving of a naked man in England.
Cernunnos is the Celtic horned god of the wild woodlands. He is also said to be the Green Man, the Horned Man, Herne the Hunter and/or Pan.
Cetus was the great sea dragon that Poseidon sent to eat Andromeda. It was turned to stone by Perseus using Medusa's head in Aethiopia. His name is the origin of the word "cetacean", used for whales.
Chaos was the primordial condition of the universe in Greek mythology.
Chaak is the Mayan storm god. He wields a lightning axe.
Chakras are places along the spine associated with mysticism in Hinduism.
Chang'e is the Chinese moon goddess.
Charon is the spirit that ferries the souls of the Greek dead across the river Acheron.
Chazaqiel is a Watcher who taught men the signs of the clouds.
Chemosh is a god mentioned in the Bible.
Chernobog is the Russian god of darkness and evil.
Cherubim are servants of the Abrahamic God. Cherubim with flaming swords were placed by God to block Adam and Even from returning to Eden.
Chi is a Chinese concept of "mystical life energy" which empowers people who have trained and meditated to develop it. Japanese and Koreans call it "Ki".
Chicomoztoc is the specific location (a group of tunnels) within Aztlan that the Aztecs came from.
Chimera was one of the monstrous children of the great dragons Typhon and Echidna. She lived on Mount Chimera in Anatolia (Turkey), a mountain with natural fires coming out of the ground. She was lion in front, serpent/dragon behind, a goat in the middle (probably with the goat's head lifted up and the lion's lower down), and breathed fire. Bellerephon killed her while riding upon Pegasus by shoving a lump of lead down her throat which melted and suffocated her. Interestingly this implies she was unable to breathe out of her other two heads...
Chiromancy is Latin for palm-reading. This is one of the Seven Forbidden Arts in the Rennaissance.
Chiron was a legendarily wise Centaur in Greek legend.
Christianity is an originally southern European variation on Abrahamic monotheism which was born when Jesus, titled "the Christ" because he had been anointed with oil in some sort of ceremony, was sacrificed to Mars.
Chupacabras are vampire bat like creatures in Mexican folklore whose name means "Sucker of Goats".
Cimeries (Hebrew spelling KYMAVR - may be related to Chimera, Cimmerians or "Black Light") is most widely known as the 66th demon of the Ars Goetia. He is described as a godly warrior riding a black horse, and possesses the abilities of locating lost or hidden treasures, teaching trivium (grammar, logic and rhetoric) and making a man into a warrior of his own likeness. He holds the rank of marquis, and is served by 20 legions. He also rules over all the spirits of Africa and can cause a person to cross seas and rivers quickly. The four of disks and the third decan of Capricorn by night are attributed to him.
Circe is a legendary Mediterranean sorceress who was known for turning Odysseus and his men into pigs. She was the daughter of Helios and Oceanid.
Claíomh Solais ("Shining Sword") is a magical Irish sword.
Clarent was the Sword in the Stone which could only be drawn by the true King of Britain, Arthur ~400 CE. It was later broken and replaced with Excalibur. It probably looked something like a Roman Spatha influenced by the Celtic iron age sword - straight, one handed, double edged, about three feet long and made of primitive steel. May or may not have had a small cross guard. "a sword of peace meant for knighting and ceremonies as opposed to battle" (Alliterative Morte Arthure).
Cleromancy is another name for Sorcery.
Clovers are symbolic of religion in Ireland. The three lobed clover represents the Christian Trinity, while the four lobed clover represents pagan mysticism.
Clurichauns are the drunken and surly cousins of Leprechauns. They are heavily associated with wine.
Coatlicue ("Snake-Skirt") is a Mexican goddess who was mother to many other important gods.
A Cockatrice is a legendary hybrid of rooster and serpent which is said to be incredibly deadly, causing death or petrification. The legend may have originated with the Nile Crocodile and the birds which pick its teeth. It is similar to the Basilisk.
Cocytus ("Lamentation") is the River of Wailing in Hades according to Greek mythology.
Coeus is the Greet Titan who is the personification of the Earth's axis of rotation.
Coifi was a pagan Anglo-Saxon priest who converted to Christianity.
Colada was one of El Cid's legendary swords.
The Colchian Dragon was a never sleeping dragon sacred to Ares which guarded the Golden Fleece.
Collin de Plancy was a demonologist.
The Compendium Maleficarum was a book on witchcraft for those who wanted to destroy witches.
Confession is a Catholic ritual in which a person tells their sins to a priest who suggests penance.
Conjuration (Latin for "swear together") is a type of sorcery used for binding and controlling spirits.
Consecrate means to "make sacred".
Coranaiads were Dwarves who plagued Britain during the reign of King Ludd (Lludd and Llefelys). They were defeated by poisoning them with crushed insects. Their hearing was so acute that they could hear anything the wind touched, making it impossible to deceive them. In the legend a device was used to muffle the voices of the poisoners.
A Coven is a small group or clique of witches.
Coyolxauhqui is the dismembered Mexican moon goddess.
Criosphinxes are Egyptian beasts with rams' heads on the body of lions.
Crocell is the 49th spirit of the Ars Goetia, manifesting as an angel with a tendency to speak in dark and mysterious ways. Once a member of the Powers, he is now a Duke of Hell who rules over 48 legions of demons. When summoned by a conjuror, he can teach geometry and other liberal sciences. He can also warm bodies of water, create the illusion of the sound of rushing waters, and reveal the location of natural baths.
Crom is a Celtic earth god that in legend Saint Patrick shattered with his shillelagh. This is god of the fictional Conan the Barbarian.
Cronos is the Greek personification of time.
Cronus is the Greek sickle god, son of Uranus and father of Zeus.
Alistair Crowley was a famous modern magician.
Cthulhu is H.P. Lovecraft's spelling and interpretation of Kadulu, which means "the Deceiver", from Koran 25:29: "For mankind, Kadulu is Satan" which means "For mankind, the deceiver is the enemy". Either Kadulu (deceiver), Satan (enemy) or both can be treated as proper names or descriptions providing somewhat different meanings in each case. Islam treats Satan as a name or title, but Kadulu as a description - "the deceiver". Lovecraft chose to interpret this part of the Koran differently and it gave rise to his cult-classic fictional mythos. In Lovecraft's novels Cthulhu is a Godzilla sized octopus headed dragon-man hibernating under the ocean. He is to awaken when the stars are aligned in a specific way so the Persian Magi astrologers should know before hand.
Cuchulainn ("Culann's Hound") was a legendary Celtic hero. He earned his name when he slew Culann's dog and felt honor bound to take the dog's place until a replacement was available.
Curtana was the sword of Ogier the Dane.
Cyclopses occur in at least two different roles in Greek legend. The Cyclops Odysseus encountered in the Odyssey was probably inspired by dwarf elephant skulls found on the islands of the Mediterranean. The nasal cavity looked like an eye socket to the ancients. The Cyclopses that forged Zeus' thunderbolt were a different type of cyclops with a different origin. One possibility is that they represented the ancient caste of smiths who covered one eye so that eye remained acclimated to the dark while the other eye was acclimated to bright light (the same reason some pirates wore them).
Mount Cyllene was the mythical birthplace of Hermes.
Cynocephali are dog headed men described by Pliny. Possibly based on the baboon.
Dagon is an ancient Semitic god associated with fertility of grains and fish. ~2500 BCE This is the god whose temple Samson destroyed in the famous scene with the pillars.
Dainsleif is a Nordic legendary sword that gave wounds that would never heal. It could not be unsheathed without killing a man.
Daimon, or Daemon, is the Greek name for a spirit. Daimons are not necessarily evil; eudaimons are good spirits, e.g. the spirit of happiness is a eudaimon.
Dáinn is one of the stags that eats from Yggdrasil.
Damballah-Wedo is a major Voodoo god.
Dânêl is one of the "Chiefs of Ten" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Dantalion, seventy first entry in the Ars Goetia, is a powerful Great Duke of Hell, with thirty-six legions of demons under his command. He teaches all arts and sciences, and also declares the secret counsel of anyone, given that he knows the thoughts of all people and can change them at his will. He can also cause love and show the similitude of any person, show the same by means of a vision, and let them be in any part of the world they will. He is depicted as a man with many appearances, which means the faces of all men and women holding a book in one of his hands:
Datura is a hallucinogenic flower. It is the main drug used to keep Zombies' minds foggy and confused.
Dazbog is the Slavic sun god. He is the son of Svarog.
Decarabia is the sixty ninth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia, and a Great Marquis of Hell, or a King and Earl. He has thirty legions of demons under his command. Decarabia knows the virtues of all herbs and precious stones, and can change into all birds and sing and fly like them before the conjurer. He is depicted as appearing as a pentagram star, changing into a man under the conjurer's request.
Dedun is a Nubian god associated with lions, incense, fire and wealth.
John Dee was Queen Elizabeth I's astrologer.
Deimos is the Greek god of Terror. He is the son of Aphrodite and Ares and twin brother of Phobos.
Delphi is a location in Greece known to be home to an oracle of legendary power.
Demeter is the Greek goddess of the harvest.
Demogorgon is the name of a god mentioned in the late fourth century CE. Whether this god was ever worshipped by anybody is unknown
Demon is a Christian modification of the Greek word for "spirit", Daimon. "Demon" implies that the spirit is evil and unGodly. The original Greek meaning is still used in the word Daemon. Daemons are generally not evil.
The Demon of Poverty is a Jewish Angel-like Demon who punishes those who step on crumbs of food. The Demon sees this as showing contempt for hungry people and deserving of punishment, sanctioned by God.
Devas are Hindu spirits or gods of a different type than the Asura.
Devil is a Greek word that means "he who slanders" i.e. "he who makes false accusations".
Diana is the Roman name for the virgin Huntress of the moonlight.
Dilong are Chinese earth dragons.
Dionysus is the Greek god of wine.
Dis is another name for Pluto. Dis-pater means "Father Dis".
Disciplina is the Roman goddess of discipline. Her virtues were frugality, sternness and faithfulness. Her image adorns Hadrian's Wall, symbolizing the way Roman discipline held the barbarians at bay.
The Discoverie of Witchcraft is a Renaissance book about witchcraft.
Divination ("to see like the Divine") is a spell or ritual intended to bring knowledge via occult means.
Djinn are Arab spirits, made from fire, which are distinct from humans and angels.
Domovoi are Slavic house spirits.
Donner is the German god of Thunder. He is the same being as Thor.
Dopplegangers ("walking double") are a person's exact double living elsewhere.
Dracula is a title that means "son of a knight of the Order of the Dragon". Dracul is the father's title that means "Knight of the Dragon".
Dragons are powerful spirits observed in a number of different phenomena depending on the specific dragon. Most dragons of legend in the European tradition were things like whales, crocodiles, snakes or volcanoes. In East Asia they were usually storms and floods or water reptiles. Dinosaur bones were thought to be dragon bones.
The four Dragon Kings live under the sea off the coasts of China and Japan. There was one for each cardinal direction.
Draugs are a type of Nordic undead of great power. Draugar possess superhuman strength, can increase their size at will, and carry the unmistakable stench of decay. They are undead corpses from Norse/Icelandic mythology, that appear to retain some semblance of intelligence. They exist either to guard their treasure, wreak havoc on living beings, or torment those who had wronged them in life.
Draupner "The Dipper" is Odin's Ring of Power, created by the dwarf brothers, Brokk and Eiti. The ring could create nine other gold rings; each new ring was of the same size and weight of the original ring.
Druids are Celtic pagan priests and wielders of supernatural power. They are known for some of the more exciting and dramatic uses of supernatural power such as calling down fire on their enemies, invisibility spells, transformation to animals, and other high-fantasy sort of stuff. In legend these powers are often emphasized by Irish Catholics who are describing how Saint Patrick channelled the even greater power of God to overcome their powers, something like when Moses and Aaron were challenged to a show of power by Pharoah's personal wonder workers.
Dryads are Greek tree nymphs.
Duneyrr is one of the stags that eats from Yggdrasil.
Durandal ("Durable") was Roland's legendary sword. It was so hard that it could split boulders.
Duraþrór is one of the stags that eats from Yggdrasil.
Durga is a Hindu god allied to Kali.
Dvalinn is one of the stags that eats from Yggdrasil.
Dvergar, or Dwarves, are the name for a race of people with dark hair who live in caves and work metals. I suspect this was the Nordic/Germanic name for what we now call the Halstadt culture, ancestors of Celts and Slavs, inventors of much metal working technology, known as "Alpines" by Madison Grant. An Anglo Saxon Wizard spell called Against a Dwarf implied that Dwarves were known to cause nightmares, insomnia and fever.
Dwarves in the supernatural sense are a specifically Germanic type of supernatural creature. The original name was Dvergar. They may be the same as the proto-Celtic Halstadt culture. The Dwarves in Tolkein's fiction were modelled after Jews - seeking their lost home in the mountains, with a legendary greed for gold...
Dyeus is the original word from which the words Zeus and Deus come from. Other modifications of his name led to the god names Tyr, Taranis, Jupiter and Dyaus Pita. He is the Father in Heaven.
Dyonune are Dogon (West African) spellcasters.
Dyodyonune are Dogon (West African) healers.
Dysnomia is the goddess of lawlessness.
Echeneis (or Remora) is a legendary fish that latched on to ships and slowed them down.
Echidna is a female earth-dragon and the mate of Typhon.
Eden is where Western civilization began. It was located where the Persian Gulf is today.
Egeking is a legendary British sword which was said to have been made in the far east.
Egil's Saga is an Icelandic saga. The oldest transcript (a fragment) dates back to 1240 CE. The saga is centered on the life of Egil Skallagrimsson, an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald.
In Norse mythology, the einherjar (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters") are those who have died in battle and are brought to Valhalla by valkyries. In Valhalla, the einherjar eat their fill of the nightly-resurrecting beast Sæhrímnir, and are brought their fill of mead (from the udder of the goat Heiðrún) by valkyries. The einherjar prepare daily for the events of Ragnarök, when they will advance for an immense battle at the field of Vígríðr; the battle which the "ein" (here meaning single-time) refers to. Heimdall occasionally returned the best of Einherjar to Midgard or Jotunheim with the purpose of killing giants, but they were forbidden to talk with the living. The einherjar are attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, the poem Hákonarmál (by the 10th century skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir) as collected in Heimskringla, and a stanza of an anonymous 10th century poem commemorating the death of Eric Bloodaxe known as Eiríksmál as compiled in Fagrskinna. Scholarly theories have been proposed etymologically connecting the einherjar to the Harii (a Germanic tribe attested in the 1st century CE)
Ek Chuaj is the Mayan god of merchants and cacao. He is depicted as black, sometimes with white stripes. Other distinguishing characteristics of Ek Chuaj are his mouth, which is encircled by a red-brown border, his large lower lip, and the presence of two curved lines to the right of his eye. Other depictions of Ek Chuaj show him as an old man with only a single tooth. He has been depicted with a pack of goods commonly carried by merchants. He may also carry a spear and, in some instances, a scorpion's tail.
Ekkisax, or Ekka's Seax, is a legendary Nordic sword or knife.
El is a proto-Semitic word that means "god". The plural is elohim.
The Elect are, in some Protestant belief systems, people who have been predestined for salvation by God.
The Elephant is the symbol of India.
Eligos (also Abigor or Eligor) is the fifteenth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a Great Duke of Hell, ruling 60 legions of demons. He discovers hidden things and knows the future of wars and how soldiers should meet. He also attracts the favor of lords, knights and other important persons.He is depicted in the form of a goodly knight carrying a lance, an ensign and a sceptre or serpent. Alternatively he is depicted as a ghostly spectre, sometimes riding a semi-skeletal (sometimes winged) horse, or the Steed of Abigor. This is a minion of Hell itself, and was a gift from Beelzebub. It was created from the remains of one of the horses of The Garden of Eden.
Elves are a specifically Germanic type of supernatural creature. Alfheim in Sweden and Norway is at the south edge of Lappland. It is said Frey rules over the Elves and Alfheim. Alf/Alp means "river" or "white" in Nordic languages. Sigvatr Þórðarson’s skaldic travelogue Austrfaravísur, composed around 1020, mentions an álfablót (‘elves' sacrifice’) in Edskogen in what is now southern Sweden. Possible connection to the Sami people. Volundr was an Elf. "Elf Crosses" - pentagrams or crosses on metal pendants - are used to ward away elves. See also Bald's Leechbook, Lacnunga, Prose Edda, Poetic Edda, Völundarkviða, Sturlunga saga, Kormáks saga, Eyrbyggja saga, Kings' sagas, Norna-Gests þáttr, Heimskringla, The Saga of Thorstein, Viking's Son, Hrólfs saga kraka, Þiðreks saga, Münchener Nachtsegen.
Elysium, or the Elysian Fields, in Greek mythology is where heroic individuals would go after death instead of going to Hades. It was said to be an island located in the far west of the known world near the Atlantic Ocean.
Empyrean is the mythical location to which fire rises. It is said to be above the air, and so the word has come to be associated with the sky dome/firmament as well as God's dwelling place in Heaven. It is a sort of Elemental Plane of Fire.
Enchantment is a French word for Incantation, which means verbally spoken spell.
Enki is the Sumerian god of water.
Enkidu was a wild man and Gilgamesh's best friend and rival.
Enlil is the Sumerian god of the air and king of the gods.
Ent is the Anglo-Saxon word for Giant. Tree-ents (treants) are tree-giants.
The Enuma Elish is a Babylonian scripture or legendary document describing their gods.
Eostre is a Nordic goddess of fertility. The term 'estrus' (for menstruation) comes from her name as does the holiday Easter.
Ephippas is an Angel-Like Demon of the wind that Solomon's servant captured in Arabia using Michael's Ring and a wineskin.
The Episcopalian Church is a Protestant Anglo-American Christian church that diverged from Anglicanism when the USA became independent from the British Empire. It tended to have congregations of "Old Whites" during the First Great Awakening period.
Epona is the Gaulish (French Celtic) name for the Goddess of Horses. She was honored by most European cultures such as Greek, Roman, German etc suggesting she was an ancient Indo-European goddess.
Erebos is the Greek god of primal darkness.
Ergot is a grain fungus that causes hallucinations.
Erictho was a powerful and hideous Sorceress and Theurgist living in Thessaly during Pompey's time.
Erinyes are the goddesses of vengeance. They were created when Cronus castrated Uranus.
Eris is the Greek goddess of strife and discord who stalked the battlefield. She helped the Trojan War by casting a golden apple addresed "to the fairest" amongst the company of goddesses. She is Ares' sister.
Ethiopians, in ancient European writing, had their faces in their chests and no heads.
Ettins are the Old English name for "giants" of Norse legend. Other Germanic languages spell it "Jotunn". There is no requirement that Ettins have two heads in mythology unlike in modern fantasy games like D&D or Ultima. However some did have multiple heads.
Eurus is the Greek god of the east wind.
Euryale ("Far-Roaming") is one of Medusa's sisters.
Eurynomos is a black-blue skinned daemon of the underworld which devours the flesh of the dead.
The Evil Eye is a means of cursing people by glaring at them malevolently. It seems to be associated with "Western" culture; East Asia and pre-Columbian America may not have had this technique. It is said that light colored eyes (blue or green) may help a person cast the Evil Eye; but the same traits may make a person more vulnerable to it as well. Many symbols and gestures are associated with warding off or reflecting the Evil Eye, such as eye-shaped symbols or sexual symbols.
Evocation is the Latin name for conjuring and controlling supernatural entitites. Originally it was used by Roman Legions to supernaturally control a city's "tutelary deity" so the conquest of the city would not be spiritually challenged. Theurgy, Goetia and Conjuration are similar to Evocation.
Excalibur ("Hard Cleaver", also known as Caledfwlch in Welsh) was given to King Arthur after his first sword, Clarent, broke. ~400 CE. It was probably something like a Roman Spatha influenced by Celtic ideas; straight, about three feet long, double edged, one handed, made of steel, minimal crossguard if any "with a design of two chimeras on the golden hilt; when the sword was unsheathed what was seen from the mouths of the two chimeras was like two flames of fire, so dreadful that it was not easy for anyone to look". - (from The Mabinogion, translated by Jeffrey Gantz - possibly pattern welded). It was said to be engraved with words on both sides of the blade. "It was used by Arthur's warrior Llenlleawg the Irishman to kill the Irish king Diwrnach while stealing his magical cauldron. Malory writes that Excalibur shine or glowed brightly - "it was so breyght in his enemyes eyen that it gaf light lyke thirty torchys." Many interpretations of the legend appear to endow the sword with a cutting strength and durability beyond that of ordinary weapons, making it unbreakable by anything but wrongful acts of its user. Excalibur's scabbard was said to have powers of its own. Injuries from losses of blood, for example, would not kill the bearer. In some tellings, wounds received by one wearing the scabbard did not bleed at all. The scabbard was stolen by Morgan le Fay and thrown into a lake, never to be found again.
Exorcism is a type of Evocation used to banish spirits.
The Eye of Horus is an Egyptian mystical symbol.
Êzêqêêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Fae "those who have spoken" are spirits named by the Romans after the Fates. The word was adopted by Germanic and Celtic cultures from Rome.
Faery is a place where Fae can be found. The name is a combination of Fae- and -ery and is similar in structure and meaning to words like "nunnery" (i.e. a place where nuns can be found) or "bakery" (i.e. a place where baked goods can be found).
Fafnir was a man or dwarf in the Völsunga saga who turned into a dragon due to his greed. He was killed by Gram the sword.
The Falcon is the symbol of Horus and therefore of Egypt.
Familiars are witches' personal helper spirits in the form of animals.
The Father in Heaven is the one supreme God with a capital G. This is the god that nearly every religion in the world recognizes and worships. Mongols call him Tengri. Christians, the Heavenly Father. Indo-Europeans call him Zeus, or Deus, or Ju-Pater, or Tyr, or Tar-Anis, or any number of other modifications of the original name Dyeus. Rome even emphasized the commonality of the Abrahamic monotheistic God and Jupiter by giving him the title Jupiter Optimus Maximus which means something like "God in Heaven, our Father, who is number one to the maximum extent"
The Feather Cloak of Freyja allows the wearer to turn into a falcon.
Februa is a Roman ritual of Springtime purification. It took place on February 15. The month of February was named for it.
Februus is the Roman god of purification; the personification of the Februa ritual.
The Fenris Wolf is Loki's son. He is bound by the magical ribbon Gleipneir and he bit off the hand of Tyr in revenge for being bound. He comes loose at Ragnarok.
A Fetch is either a Shaman's personal helper spirit or an Irish Doppleganger.
Fetishes ("Made Things") are Voodoo amulets.
Fierabras was a Saracen giant who stole relics. He was an enemy of the Paladins.
The First Horseman of the Apocalypse, Conquest, rode a white horse and carried a bow. This represents the conquering horse archer people of Asia, especially Parthia. Possibly this is the Sassanid god Verethragna.
Flagellation is beating with whips. Some medieval Christians flagellated themselves in repentance for their sins.
Flauros is a strong Great Duke of Hell, having either twenty or thirty-six legions of demons under his rule. He is the sixty fourth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He gives true answers of all things past, present and future, but he must be first commanded to enter a magic triangle for if not he will lie, deceive the conjurer, and beguile him in other business. But if he enters the triangle he will answer truly, and gladly speak about divinity, the creation of the world, himself, and other fallen angels. He can also destroy all the conjurer's enemies by burning them up. It is said he can even inflict vengeance on other demons. If the magician requests it, he will not suffer temptations from any spirit or in any form. Flauros is depicted as a terrible and strong leopard that under request of the conjurer changes into a man with fiery eyes and an awful expression.
Focalor, the forty first Demon in the Ars Goetia, is a powerful Great Duke of Hell, commanding three or thirty legions of spirits. Focalor appears in the form of a man with a griffin's wings, kills men, drowns them, and overthrows warships; but if commanded by the conjurer he will not harm any man or thing. Focalor has power over wind and sea, and had hoped to return to heaven after one thousand years, but he was deceived in his hope. One of the three archdemons, Lucifuge Rofocale, has his second name as an anagram of Focalor.
Fomorians were, in legend, one of the races of people in Ireland before the Celts arrived.
Foras is the thirty first spirit listed in the Ars Goetia. He is a Mighty President, and appears in the Form of a Strong Man in Human Shape. He can give the understanding to Men how they may know the Virtues of all Herbs and Precious Stones. He teaches the Arts of Logic and Ethics in all their parts. If desired he makes men invisible, and to live long, and to be eloquent. He can discover Treasures and recover things Lost. He rules over 29 Legions of Spirits.
Forneus (related to 'furnace') is a Great Marquis of Hell and the thirtieth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He has twenty-nine legions of demons under his rule. He teaches Rhetoric and languages, gives men a good name, and makes them be loved by their friends and foes. He is depicted as a great sea monster.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, mentioned in Revelation, represented the factors that led to the end of the Classical Era and the beginning of the Dark Ages.
Four Stags named Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór chew on the leaves of the Nordic world tree Yggdrasil.
The Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse, Death, represented the end of the Classical era and the beginning of the Dark Ages. Much suffering and misery followed.
Fragarach ("the Answerer") is a legendary Celtic sword. It was said that no one could tell a lie or move with Fragarach at his or her throat. It was also said to place the wind at the user's command and could cut through any shield or wall, and had a piercing wound from which no man could recover.
Frey is a Nordic god associated with kingship, virility and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather, and was pictured as a phallic fertility god. Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals". Freyr was especially associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house. He is one of the Vanir, the son of the sea god Njörðr, and the twin brother of the goddess Freyja. The gods gave him Álfheimr, the realm of the Elves, as a teething present. He rides the shining dwarf-made boar Gullinbursti and possesses the ship Skíðblaðnir which always has a favorable breeze and can be folded together and carried in a pouch when it is not being used. He has the servants Skírnir, Byggvir, and Beyla. The most extensive surviving Freyr myth relates Freyr's falling in love with the female jötunn Gerðr. Eventually, she becomes his wife but first Freyr has to give away his magic sword which fights on its own "if wise be he who wields it". Although deprived of this weapon, Freyr defeats the jötunn Beli with an antler. However, lacking his sword, Freyr will be killed by the fire jötunn Surtr during the events of Ragnarök. Friday is named after him.
Frey's Sword is a legendary Nordic sword that "struck out at Jotunn of it's own accord".
Freya ("Lady") is a Nordic goddess of beauty.
Frigg is the wife of Odin.
Furcas or Forcas is the fiftieth entry in the Ars Goetia and a Knight of Hell. He rules 20 legions of demons. He teaches Philosophy, Astronomy, Rhetoric, Logic, Chiromancy and Pyromancy. Furcas is depicted as a strong old man with white hair and long white beard, who rides a horse while holding a pitch fork.
Furfur ('scoundrel/thief') is the thirty fourth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a powerful Great Earl of Hell, being the ruler of twenty-nine legions of demons. He is a liar unless compelled to enter a magic triangle where he gives true answers to every question, speaking with a rough voice. Furfur causes love between a man and a woman, creates storms, tempests, thunder, lightning, and blasts, and teaches on secret and divine things. He is depicted as a hart (deer) or winged hart, and also as an angel.
The Furies are the Roman name for what the Greeks call Erinyes.
Gaap, the thirty third Demon listed in the Ars Goetia, is a mighty Prince and Great President of Hell, commanding sixty-six legions of demons. He is the king and prince of the southern and/or western region of Hell and Earth. He is the guide of the four kings (the others being either Ziminiar, Corson and Amaymon, or Belial, Beleth, and Asmodai). He is said to be better conjured to appear when the Sun is in a southern zodiacal sign. Gaap specifically controls the element of water and reigns over the Water Elementals (Undines). Gaap teaches Philosophy and all liberal sciences, can cause love or hate and make men insensible and invisible, deliver familiars out of the custody of other magicians, teaches how to consecrate those things that belong to the dominion of Amaymon his king (there is a contradiction here, see above), gives true answers concerning past, present and future, and can carry and re-carry men and things speedily from one nation to another at the conjurer's will. He can also make men ignorant. Certain necromancers honour him with sacrifices and burning offerings. He is depicted in human shape.
Gadriel is a Watcher who taught the art of cosmetics, the use of weapons and killing blows.
Gabriel ("God is my strength") is an archangel. Some believe he was "the man in linen" of the Books of Daniel and Ezekiel.
Gadreel is listed in the Book of Enoch as one of the leaders of the 200 fallen angels who mated with humans. It is also said that he taught the art of cosmetics, the use of weapons and killing blows.
The Gae Assail ("Spear of Assail") was enchanted such that with the right magic words it would fly to a target and then return. It was owned by Lugh.
The Gae Bulg ("Belly Spear") was Cuchulain's magic spear. It had the power to fill the target's body full of barbs such that removing the weapon caused increased wounding.
Gaea is the Greek Earth-Titaness.
Gama-Gorib is the enemy of the Khoisan hero Heitsi-Eibib.
Marquis Gamigin (also Gamygin, Gamigm or Samigina) is the fourth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is a Great Marquis of Hell who rules over thirty legions of demons. He teaches all liberal sciences and gives an account of the souls of those who died in sin and who drowned in the sea, speaking with a rough voice. He also answers what is asked about, and stays with the conjurer until he or she is satisfied. Gamigin is depicted as a little horse or a donkey, which changes form into a man under the conjurer's request.
Gancanagh ("Love-Talker") are a type of Irish Incubus.
Gandalf is a Germanic word that means "Good Elf".
Ganesha is a popular Hindu elephant headed god. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honored at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions.Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity.The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.
Gargouille was a French water dragon that according to legend was captured and slain by Saint Romain in the early 600's. It was probably a whale. In the legend the dragon's head was hung on a church and used as a waterspout, which was the origin of the Gargoyles that decorate medieval churches.
Garm ("rag") is a blood stained watchdog that guards the gate to Hel.
Gashadokuro ("Starving Skeleton") are, in Japanese mythology, giant composite skeletons made of the bones of those who starve to death.
Gaunab is a Khoisan god who represents the opposition to Tsui-goab, the Creator. He lives in the Black Sky.
Gauwa is the !Kung word for spirit.
Geb is the Egyptian Earth god.
The Gegenees were a tribe of six-armed Mysian giants slain by the Argonauts.
Gehenna is a valley in Israel where children were sacrificed to pagan gods by burning. The abstraction of this mythical place became the modern concept of Hell - where sinners burn.
Genii were originally a Roman name for a type of spirit. Specifically, Genii is the plural, and Genius the singular. The word has come to mean roughly the same thing as the Arab Djinn in common speech.
Geomancy is the Latin name for the study of the ground for mystical information. The Chinese concept of Fung Shue is often described as geomancy. This is one of the Seven Forbidden Arts in the Rennaissance.
Geryon was a winged giant with three bodies who lived in Tartessos in Greek legend (possibly the Iberian peninsula). Heracles had to steal his cattle as one of his labors. Medusa was Geryon's grandmother. Geryon is also a monstrous creature described in Dante's Inferno, but with a different description - this Geryon is the Monster of Fraud, a winged beast with the face of an honest man, the paws of a lion, the body of a wyvern, and a poisonous sting at the tip of his tail.
King Gesar, 'the Great Lion, Wish-fulfilling Jewel, Subduer of Foes' is a central Asian culture hero. He had a miraculous birth, a despised and neglected childhood, and then became ruler and won his (first) wife ’Brug-mo through a series of marvelous feats. He defended his people against various external aggressors, human and superhuman. Instead of dying a normal death he departs into a hidden realm from which he may return at some time in the future to save his people from their enemies. He has a magical horse named Kyang Go Karkar.
Ghentu-debata is the Hindu god of skin disease and a companion of Shitala.
Ghost is a Germanic word for spirit. Over time it has come to imply the spirits of the dead who have returned in an intangible form to haunt the living.
Ghost Dance was a ritual used by indigenous people of North America to reverse the decline in their fortunes since the USA took over.
Ghost Shirts were indigenous American magical armor that was supposed to stop bullets, but did not.
Ghouls are an Arabian supernatural creature which eats corpses. Some stories say it can change into a hyena.
Giants are common in mythology all over the world, but the word is used to describe many wildly different entities by different people. Huge people of seven or eight feet in height like Goliath are called giants. Nordic Jotunn are often called Giants though this may not be perfectly accurate. Some giants are inferred from enormous stoneworks created by nature (or Romans), which "must" have been created by giants. Sometimes the Biblical Nephilim are called giants, though again this may not be appropriate.
Gilgamesh was the legendary ruler of Uruk (Iraq). He was infamous for demanding that he have sex with a man's virgin wife before the husband. This applied to every marriage in the kingdom and led to much resentment.
Ginnungagap is the chasm between Muspelheim and Niflheim in Nordic mythology.
Gjallahorn is the horn that is sounded when Ragnarok has come. It is owned by Heimdall.
A Glamor is a magical illusion.
Glasya-Labolas is the twenty fifth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is a mighty President of Hell who commands thirty-six legions of demons. He is the author and captain of manslaughter and bloodshed, tells all things past and to come, gains the minds and love of friends and foes causing love among them if desired, incites homicides and can make a man invisible. He is depicted as a dog with the wings of a griffin.
Glaukos was a Greek fisherman transformed into a fish-tailed sea-god after tasting a magical herb.
Gleipneir is a magical ribbon used to bind the Fenris wolf. It was made of "noise of a cat, beard of woman, breath of a fish and spittle of a bird", which is why those things do not exist - they were used for the ribbon.
Gnomes were considered the Elementals of Earth in the Renaissance.
Goblins are possibly a variation of the word 'Kobolds'.
Gods are spirits that are inferred from observation of the world. How do we know that Zeus exists? You can see the rainclouds and lightning bolts. The storm almost has a personality...a sort of "stormy personality" that looks on from above, usually benevolently, fertilizing the land, but which can smite anyone or anything if he gets angry...that's the Father in Heaven. Other gods can be seen in human behavior. War has a personality. So does eroticism. These spirits are very powerful. Romans named them Mars and Venus. But the Heavenly Father is greater.
Goetia is another name for Theurgy, or the summoning of demons.
The Golden Eagle Standard of a Roman Legion was a powerful sacred pagan artifact carried by every Roman Legion. The Golden Eagle is the symbol of Rome.
The Golden Dragon is the symbol of Imperial China. The Communists reject this symbol.
The Golem ("unshaped material") is a Jewish spirit that animates a clay statue. The word is Biblical and possibly referred to "uncivilized" people or "undeveloped" land.
Goliath's Sword was given to David after their legendary fight ~1000 BCE by a priest named Ahimelech. It was probably an extra large version of a bronze age or iron age sword - like a large Xiphos - double edged, made of bronze or iron (but not steel) and about two feet long (maybe up to three feet, it was a giant's sword after all - but if so, it would be correspondingly heavier - a fat blade, not like a three foot spatha or arming sword).
Gorgons were three daughters of Echidna and Typhon. Medusa was one of the three who was raped by Poseidon in Athena's temple and was cursed for it with snake hair and a face that turns men to stone.
Gram is a Nordic legendary sword that Odin stuck in a tree named Barnstokkr. Only Sigmund could pull it out. When Sigmund fought Odin in disguise, Odin shattered it. It was reforged by Sigmund's son to kill Fafnir the dragon.
The Green Man is another name for Cernunnos
Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus or Gregory the Miracle-Worker (Ancient Greek: Γρηγόριος ὁ Θαυματουργός, Grēgórios ho Thaumatourgós; c. AD 213 – 270), also known as Gregory of Neocaesarea, was a Christian bishop of the 3rd century. He has been canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
Gremlins are a fairly young type of spirit known for sabotaging mechanical devices, especially airplanes.
Gremory, the fifty sixth entry in the Ars Goetia, is a strong Duke (or Duchess?) of Hell that governs twenty-six legions of demons. He tells all things past, present and future, about hidden treasures, and procures the love of women, young and old, but especially maidens. He is depicted as appearing in the form of a beautiful woman with the crown of a duchess tied around her waist, and riding a camel.
Grendel and his mother were monsters who Beowulf slew. His mother's blood was caustic enough to melt iron.
The Grettis Saga is a historical Nordic saga.
Grid is the Nordic Jotunn who gave Thor his magical gauntlets, belt and staff.
Grídarvöl is a staff that was given to Thor by Grid at the same time he received his magical belt and gauntlets.
Grigori is a Slavic name for the Watchers in the Books of Enoch.
Grimoires are magical texts used in Ceremonial High Magic.
Gris-gris are amulets made by Voudoun.
Grógaldr or The Spell of Gróa is the first of two poems, now commonly published under the title Svipdagsmál, found in several 17th-century paper manuscripts with Fjölsvinnsmál. In at least three of these manuscripts, the poems are in reverse order and separated by a third eddic poem titled Hyndluljóð. Gróagaldr is one of six eddic poems involving necromantic practice. It details Svipdag's raising of his mother Groa, a völva, from the dead. Before her death, she requested him to do so if he ever required her help; the prescience of the völva is illustrated in this respect. The purpose of this necromancy was that she could assist her son in a task set him by his cunning stepmother. Svipdag's mother, Gróa, has been identified as the same völva who chanted a piece of Hrungnir's hone from Thor's head after their duel, as detailed in Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. There, Gróa is the wife of Aurvandil, a man Thor rescues from certain death on his way home from Jötunheim. The news of her husband's fate makes Gróa so happy, she forgets the charm, leaving the hone firmly lodged in Thor's forehead.
Gryphons are legendary animals that are eagle in front and lion in the rear. They represent dominion over all birds and beasts, being made partially of the king of the birds and partially the king of the beasts. They are said to come from central Eurasia. The offspring of a gryphon and a mare is a hippogriff.
Gullinbursti ("Gold Bristles") is Frey's golden mechanical boar. It can be ridden and goes faster than a horse. It can also fly.
Gungnir ("swaying one") is Odin's spear. Gungnir was made by the sons of Ivaldi (4 dwarfs).
Gwi is the Khoisan sky god.
Gwydion ("prophetic one") is a mythical figure in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogian.
Duke Gusion is a strong Great Duke of Hell and the eleventh Demon in the Ars Goetia. He rules over forty legions of demons. He tells all past, present and future things, shows the meaning of all questions that are asked to him, reconciles friends, and gives honour and dignity. He is depicted as a baboon or according to some, in the form of a Xenophile [?].
Haagenti is the forty eighth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a Great President of Hell, ruling thirty-three legions of demons. He makes men wise by instructing them in every subject, transmutes all metals into gold, and changes wine into water and water into wine. Haagenti is depicted as a big bull with the wings of a griffin, changing into a man under request of the conjurer.
Hades is the Greek god who personifies the underworld.
Hades' Dogskin Cap of Darkness was a hat of invisibility owned by Hades and loaned out to heroes.
Hae-Nim is the Korean sun goddess.
Hafgusa was a Nordic sea monster.
Hags are Germanic spirits that look like elderly women.
The Hamsa, also known as the Hand of Mary, Hand of Miriam or Hand of Fatima, is a symbolic hand with an eye in the palm. It is a protective amulet that wards off the Evil Eye.
Hanging by the neck is the tradition method of Anglo Saxon sacrifice. It probably is related to the symbol of the Hanged God, Odin (called Woden by the Anglo-Saxons).
Hayyot ("Living Creature") is a type of four or six winged divine creature that is mentioned in Ezekiel and Revelation.
The Heavenly Host is God's Angelic army in Jewish tradition. Samael is one member.
Hecate is a Greek goddess, most often shown holding two torches or a key, and in later periods depicted in triple form. She was variously associated with crossroads, entrance-ways, dogs, light, the Moon, knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants and sorcery.
Hecatonchires are giants of Greek legend who had one hundred hands and hurled a hundred stones at a time. It is possible that these represent a stone throwing mob of people - the ancestor to heavy infantry throwing javelins or axes before melee.
Hecuba is a black dog and companion of the goddess Hekate of Greek legend. She was formerly a Queen but was transformed after she murdered a Thracian King and was sentenced to death by stoning.
Hedj-Wer is an Egyptian baboon god.
Heimdallr is the Nordic god who guards the gates to Asgard. He blows his horn Gjallarhorn when Ragnarok arrives, but until then he keeps watch while drinking fine mead in his dwelling Himinbjörg, located where the burning rainbow bridge Bifröst meets heaven. He owns the golden-maned horse Gulltoppr, has gold teeth, and is the son of Nine Mothers. Heimdallr is attested as possessing foreknowledge, keen eyesight and hearing, is described as "the whitest of the gods", Heimdallr is said to be the originator of social classes among humanity and once regained Freyja's treasured possession Brísingamen while doing battle in the shape of a seal with Loki. Heimdallr and Loki are foretold to kill one another during the events of Ragnarök. His sons are referenced in the beginning of Voluspa.
Heitsi-Eibib is a Khoisan ancestral hero.
Hel is the Nordic goddess of the underworld. The underworld itself was often called Hel, though Helheim specifically describes the underword (vs its ruler) with no ambiguity.
Helios is the Greek name for the Sun. Helios was considered one of the Titans. Romans knew him as Sol and briefly worshiped him as the One True God, Sol Invictus.
Hell, or the Hell of the Damned, is the English name for Gehenna. The name was taken from the Nordic word for the underworld.
Hephaestus is the crippled Greek god of smiths and the husband of Aphrodite.
Hera is the Greek goddess of marriage and queens.
Hermes is the Greek god of messengers and sorcery. Sometimes referred to as Hermes Trismegistus in Egyptian contexts.
Herne the Hunter is another name for Cernunnos, the Celtic god of the wild.
Hieracosphinxes are falcon headed lions found in Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Hippogriffs ("Horse-Griffon") are legendary beasts with the rear of a horse and the front of an eagle. They are the offspring of a mare and a male griffin. The first recorded mention of the hippogriff was made by the Latin poet Virgil in his Eclogues. In Orlando Furioso the English knight Astolfo journeyed to Ethiopia on a hippogriff to find a cure for Orlando's madness.
A Hogon is a village spiritual leader in the Dogon tribe of West Africa.
Homonculus is the (imaginary/spiritual) "little person" inside of sperm that grows into the fetus. Sorcerers believed they could "hatch" the homonculus without using the sperm to fertilize a woman's egg cell.
Horse Face is one of the two guardians of the underworld in Chinese mythology. Ox Head is the other.
Horse Sacrifice is an ancient Indo-European ritual.
Horus is the Egyptian falcon headed sky god of Lower (northern) Egypt. He is the son of Osiris (Bremner-Rhind Papyrus) and enemy of his uncle Set. His symbol is the Eye of Horus, also known as the wedjat eye. The city of Nekhen is sacred to him. As the sky god, the Sun and Moon were said to be his eyes. The Moon is less bright than the Sun because it is an artificial replacement for the eye Set gouged out when they fought.
Hrotti ("Thruster") is a magical sword that was in the hoard of Fafnir the dragon.
Hrunting ("Thrusting") was a legendary sword loaned to Beowulf by Unferth the Dane to fight Grendel's mother. Unfortunately it was unable to harm her. From the poem Beowulf: "a hilted weapon, a rare and ancient sword named Hrunting. The iron blade with its ill-boding patterns had been tempered in blood. It had never failed the hand of anyone who hefted it in battle, anyone who had fought and faced the worst in the gap of danger".
Huitzilopotchli is the god that the Mexicans sacrificed people to in the pre-Hispanic Mexican Empire. He is known as a hummingbird and as the Sun and is associated with the left side.
Humbaba was the Sumerian guardian of the Cedar Forest in the Epic of Gilgamesh. He was killed by Gilgamesh.
Hunab Ku is a Mayan name for the One True God.
Hungry Ghosts are Chinese spirits of ancestors who were either shamelessly selfish in life or neglected by their descendents in death. In the former case as a curse, in the latter as retribution, these ghosts are said to wander the Earth eternally hungry to the point of malevolence.
Hupia is a Taino (indigenous people of the Carribean) word that means ghost.
Huracán ("one legged"), often referred to as U K'ux Kaj, the "Heart of Sky", is a K'iche' Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at creating humanity. He also caused the Great Flood after the second generation of humans angered the gods. He supposedly lived in the windy mists above the floodwaters and repeatedly invoked "earth" until land came up from the seas.
The Hydra of Lerna was a water dragon with many regenerating heads. It was slain or defeated by Hercules.
Hydromancy is the Latin name for gathering mystical information from the study of bodies of water. This is one of the Seven Forbidden Arts in the Renaissance.
Hymir is the Jotunn father of the Nordic god Tyr. Possibly equivalent to Uranus/Cronus?
Hyperion is a Greek Titan and father of the sun, moon and dawn. Possibly the personification of light?
Iblis is the Islamic name for Satan (or "Shaitan"). In Islam, Iblis is said to be a Jinn. He refused to bow to Adam when Allah commanded it. Iblis felt he was better than Adam because Adam was made of clay and Iblis of fire. Allah cast Iblis out of Paradise but gave him until Judgement Day to tempt humans and Jinn. Qu'ran Sura 7 (Al A'raf) ayat 11-12
Ifrit are a type of Jinn.
Ikelos is a prophetic dream spirit which appears in animal form.
Ilabrat is the Sumerian god who is attendant and minister of state of the chief sky god Anu.
Imams are a type of Muslim "priest" or "rabbi".
Imps are minor Germanic spirits with a mischievous personality.
Inanna is the Sumerian goddess of love, beauty, sex, desire, fertility, war, combat, and political power, equivalent to the Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian goddess Ishtar. She was also the patron goddess of the Eanna temple at the city of Uruk, which was her main cult center. She was associated with the planet Venus and her most prominent symbols included the lion and the eight-pointed star.
Incantations are verbally spoken spells.
Incubus is the name of a sexy male spirit that comes to women at night, giving them erotic dreams while draining their spiritual energy away. It is the male version of the succubus. Incubi can impregnate women with semen taken while in the form of succubi because they can shapeshift between the two genders.
Indra is the Hindu god of thunderstorms. He is the leader of the Devas.
Inti is the Incan sun god who is the son of Viracocha.
Invocation is Latin for calling gods to possess oneself for purposes of enlightenment or empowerment. Chinese boxers (kung fu fistfighters) used similar methods during the Boxer Rebellion.
Ipos is the twenty second Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is an Earl and powerful Prince of Hell who has thirty-six legions of demons under his command. He knows and can reveal all things, past, present and future. He can make men witty and valiant. He is commonly depicted with the body of an angel with the head of a lion, the tail of a hare, and the feet of a goose, less frequently in the same shape but with the body of a lion, and rarely as a vulture.
The Iron Eagle is the symbol of Germany.
Ishtar is the Semitic goddess of fertility, war and sexuality. She is the same being as Ashtar and Attar and was equated with Venus, Aphrodite and Lucifer. Her symbols were the lion, the horse, the sphinx, the dove, and a star within a circle. Pictorial representations often show her naked. She has been known as the deified evening star. Her centers of worship were Cyprus, Sicily, Sidon, Tyre and Biblos. She was often depicted on Sidonian coins as standing on the prow of a galley, leaning forward with right hand outstretched, being thus the original of all figureheads for sailing ships. She asked Gilgamesh to marry her; when he rejected her, she sent the Bull of Heaven to punish him, which he then killed.
Isis is an Egyptian mother goddess. She is a daughter of Nut and Keb (Bremner-Rhind Papyrus).
Islam ("Submission") is an originally Arab variation on Abrahamic monotheism which has spread throughout western Asia, north Africa and around the world. The word Islam means "submission to God". The prophet most revered in Islam is Mohammed who lived in Arabia during the European Dark Ages.
The Ismenian Dragon guarded a sacred spring near Thebes. It was killed by Cadmus with a hurled (or slung) stone.
Ixion was a god who seduced an illusionary Hera named Nephele and was punished by Zeus. The child of this union was the first Centaur.
The Jade Emporer is one of the Daoist representations of the First God. He was one of the Three Pure Ones.
Janus is a Roman god of beginnings and transitions and thereby of gates, doors, doorways, passages and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past. January is named for him.
Járngreipr are Thor's gauntlets, the "Iron Grippers", which he needs to properly wield his hammer Mjolnir. He received them from a Jotunn named Grid. They also allow him to handle red hot iron and throw Mjolnir in such a way that it will always return to his hand.
The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), is an ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters.
Jehova is a Roman way of writing YHWH.
Jerusalem is a city that is sacred to all three major branches of Abrahamism: Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
Jesuits are a Catholic tradition known for their selfless work ethic, exceptional educational accomplishments and secrecy and resistance to the Pope. The head of their order is sometimes referred to as the "Black Pope" because of his clothing and status.
Jiangshi are Chinese animated corpses who die far from home. They hop their way back to their home village at night so as to be buried there. This legend comes from the way monks used to transport corpses at night which looked like a line of hopping corpses.
Jinkininki are Japanese cannibalistic ghoul-like revenants.
Johannes Wier was a Dutch demonologist.
Jômjâêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Jorogumo ("Whore-Spider") are Japanese shapeshifting spider-women.
Jotnar is a name for Nordic "giants".
Jotunheim is the homeland of the Jotnar.
Jove is another name for Jupiter/YHWH. Instead of a Y and W, Romans sometimes wrote it as J and V, giving "Jehovah", or Jove.
Joyeuse was Charlemagne's sword.
The Juggernaut (Jagganath) is a Hindu god with an enormous, weighty wheeled shrine carrying his idol. The unstoppable wheeled vehicle led to the modern meaning of the word "Juggernaut" as an unstoppable moving object.
Juno is the Roman goddess of queens, marriages and the protectress of funds. She is the Roman version of Hera. The month of June is named after her.
Jupiter is the Roman god of rulership and the storm. His name means "Ju, the Father".
Jvarasura is the Hindu fever demon. He accompanies Shitala.
Ka is an Egyptian concept that describes a part of the soul.
Kabbalah is a tradition of Jewish Theurgy.
Kali ("Black Lady") is the Hindu goddess of destruction. She is depicted holding a human head and wielding a sword in two of her many hands. In her most famous myth she is summoned to drink the infinite drops of blood coming from an enemy god. Each drop of blood that hit the Earth would become another warrior so Kali drank every one.
Kami is the Japanese name for spirits.
Kappa ("River Child") are a Japanese water-turtle spirit likely inspired by the giant Japanese salamander. It lives in mountain rivers and streams and is very mischievous. However it is bound to an extreme code of courtesy and can be easily tricked. If a Kappa is bowed to, it will bow in return, and cause the water to spill out of the creature's head, disabling it. If it does not get water from its home river into its head in time it will die. This is the origin of the Koopa Troopas in the Mario Brothers series of games.
Kasa-Obake are Japanese umbrella spirits.
Kauha is a San (east African) trickster god.
Keb is the Egyptian Earth-god.
Kelpies are Scottish water-horse spirits.
Keres are the Greek personification of violent death.
Keto is a primordial sea goddess in Greek mythology, the daughter of Gaia and Pontus.
The Khalkotauroi were mechanical bronze bulls made my Hephaestus which could breathe fire.
Kharybdis is gigantic daughter of Poseidon who was chained to the sea-bed as punishment for a crime. Her inhalations form a massive whirlpool, a terror for the sailors travelling through the entrance to the Mediterranean.
Khepera is an ancient Egyptrian name for God in His role as Creator. It is mentioned in the Bremner-Rhind Papyrus.
Khonsu is the Egyptian Moon goddess. Part of her was used to replace Horus' eye which Set had gouged out.
Kilin are Chinese legendary beasts sometimes called "Chinese unicorns". They were possibly inspired by the Giraffe.
The Kishi is a two-faced demon in Angola. According to legend, a Kishi has an attractive human man's face on the front of his head and a hyena's face on the back. Kishi are said to use their human face, smooth talk and other charms to attract young women who they then eat with the hyena face.
Kiyohime is a Japanese dragon-woman.
Kobolds are small Germanic spirits associated with people and their occupations. The element cobalt is named for the Kobold because of the troublesome nature of cobalt-arsenic impurities in other mined substances.
Kokabiel is one of the leaders of the Watchers who lives in the cthonic underworld. He commands 365,000 spirits and instructs his fellows in astrology.
Kokytus is the underground river of wailing in Greek legend. It is one of five legendary rivers in Hades.
Koschei was a Slavic man who had the magical power to hide his soul away in an object and so was unkillable until the soul was found and released. He is an archetypical Slavic villain.
Kraken ("unwholesome") is a Nordic giant crab/octopus/squid monster.
Kujata is an Arab ox that stands on top of Bahamut, helping hold up the world.
Kur is the Sumerian name for the underworld. Kur is also the name of a primeval Babylonian dragon.
Kumogu are Dogon (West African) diviners.
Kusanage-no-Tsurugi ("Sword Cutting Grass", 草 薙 の 剣 ), formerly known as Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi ("Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven", 天叢雲剣) is a sword made in the middle of the first millenium (perhaps ~500) CE which is one of the Three Crown Jewels of Japan. It is said to have the power to control the wind. Perhaps this sword was used to summon the famous Kamikaze storm that defeated the Mongol invasion! It is of the Tsurugi design as the name shows, which means it was straight and double edged, possibly something like a Viking sword.
Kyang Go Karkar is the magical horse of King Gesar.
Laban was a Book of Mormon contemporary of Nephi in Jerusalem (c. 600 B.C.) who possessed a unique sword. "The hilt thereof was of pure gold, and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine, and the blade thereof was of the most precious steel" (1 Ne. 4:9). Nephi was "constrained by the Spirit" to kill Laban (1 Ne. 4:10). Among other things he had opposed the Lord's imperative to relinquish the plates and had "sought to take away" Nephi's life (1 Ne. 4:11). Using Laban's "own sword," Nephi slew him (1 Ne. 4:18), retained the sword, and brought it to the Western Hemisphere.
Ladon was a dragon sacred to Hera which guarded her golden apples. Hercules killed Ladon with a spear and Hera put him in the sky, coiled around Coeus (the Earth's axis of rotation), as the constellation Draco.
Laelaps was a Classical dog that always caught its prey.
Lamashtu is Pazuzu's rival.
Lamia was a queen of Libya in Greek mythology. She was one of Zeus' many lovers and this brought the wrath of Hera who took her children from her. This led to Lamia becoming a cannibalistic monster who stole and ate other peoples' children.
A Lammasu is an Assyrian protective spirit with the body of a lion or bull, wings of an eagle and the head of a human.
Lampads are companions of Hecate, the Greek titan goddess of witchcraft and crossroads. They were a gift from Zeus for Hecate's loyalty in the Titanomachy. They bear torches and accompany Hecate on her night-time travels and hauntings. Some accounts tell of how the light of the Lampads' torches has the power to drive one to madness.
Lampagos are manticore like beasts.
Lares are benevolent Manes.
Larvae ("masks") are the Latin equivalent of the Chinese "Hungry Ghosts".
Lebe is the Dogon (West African) Earth god.
Legerdemain is the skill of sleight of hand used to create illusory mystical effects.
Lemure is another name for Larva.
Leprechauns are small Irish spirits which hide gold at the end of the rainbow.
Leraje is a mighty Great Marquis of Hell who has thirty legions of demons under his power. He is the fourteenth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He causes great battles and disputes, and makes gangrene wounds caused by arrows. He is depicted as a gallant and handsome archer clad in green, carrying a bow and quiver.
Leshies are Slavic tree spirits.
Lethe is the cthonic river of forgetfulness and oblivion, found in Hades in Greek legend. It is one of five such underground rivers.
The Leucrotta is a fantastic animal from Africa of amazing strength. It is said to imitate the human voice, to call men by name at night, and to devour those who approach it with the bony ridges it has instead of teeth. It is as brave as a lion, as swift as a horse, and as strong as a bull. It cannot be overcome by any weapon of steel. It is probably based on the hyena.
Leviathan is an old Semitic word for "enormous water animal". Usually it is used to describe whales or crocodiles. In Jewish mythology it is the archetype of the great water animal.
Ley Lines are lines of mystical "connectedness" between places which are very far apart.
Liberty is the Roman goddess of freedom. During the 1700s and 1800s she was used as a symbol for what Americans (and French) hold most sacred. Her statue is found in New York Harbor and on buildings in Washington D.C.
Lich is simply a word that means "corpse".
Lilith represents Adam's first wife, before Eve. She refused to live with Adam (i.e.civilization) and remained in the Natural State. Her children are often said to be a particularly malicious group of demons.
Limbo (Latin limbus, edge or boundary, referring to the "edge" of Hell) is a medieval Catholic speculative idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in Original Sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Limbo is not an official doctrine of the Catholic Church or any other Christian denomination. Medieval theologians, in western Europe, described the underworld ("hell", "hades", "infernum") as divided into four distinct parts: Hell of the Damned (which some call Gehenna), Purgatory, Limbo of the Fathers or Patriarchs, and Limbo of the Infants.
La Llorana is a Mexican ghost of a woman who drowned her children and was denied entry to Heaven until she found them again. Thus she is a Lamia like monster who is said to drown children. Her name means "the Weeping Woman".
Loa is the West African word for spirits.
Loki is a Nordic trickster god. He is associated with fire and often acts as an enemy to the other gods. At one point he was chained with venom dripping on him as punishment for his crimes.
Long Meg and her Daughters is a stone circle and sacred site in Cumbria, northwest England.
Longma is a Chinese dragon-horse. It is winged and scaled but otherwise like a horse.
Loricas ("Armor") are Catholic incantations of protection. They are particularly popular with Irish Catholics.
Louhi is a legendary Finnish witch and queen.
Loviatar is the blind Finnish goddess of disease.
Lu Dongbin's Sword is a legendary Chinese sword. Lu slew dragons and performed "freak acts" with his sword.
Lua ("destruction") is a Roman goddess who received the bloodied weapons of enemies destroyed in war. She was associated with Saturn.
Lucifer is a word that has been used in the translation of Isaiah 14:12. It is often translated instead as "morning star" (the planet Venus). This likely refers to an ancient Canaanite god named Attar who tried to usurp the throne of Baal Hadad but was inadequate.
Lucifuge Rofocale is the demon in charge of Hell's government by order of Lucifer.
Lugus ("Flash" - also known as Lugh) is a major Celtic god. He had a number of magical items of note.
The Lúin of Celtchar is a legendary Celtic flaming spear.
Luna is the Roman personification of the Moon. She is said to ride in a two horse chariot.
Lycanthrope ("wolf-man") is the Greek word for "werewolf".
Lycaon was a man who served Zeus human flesh as a test of the Storm Father's omniscience. Zeus punished him by turning him into a wolf and killing 49 of his 50 sons with lightning bolts.
Lyngbakr was a Nordic sea monster.
Maahes is an Egyptian god. He is the son of Sekhmet and is known as the "Lion Prince".
Maat is the Egyptian god of order and wisdom. In Proverbs where "wisdom" is mentioned it is likely that the Egyptian original had the name of the god Maat. Seems to have some similarities to Minerva/Athena.
Macha ("the Plains") Redmane is a Celtic goddess associated with war, horses and sovereignty.
Magical Staves are Nordic mystical symbols.
Magicians, or Magi are Persian (Iranian) astrologers. They read the stars to gather mystical information. These were the "Wise Men from the East" who came to Bethlehem to honor Jesus. These Iranian Magi were the ones who named Jesus "King of the Jews", the phrase that eventually led the Jewish community to turn him in to the Romans - the Jewish community did not want to be blamed for rebelling against Caesar who they acknowledged as their ruler. Simon Magus came from this tradition or so his name suggests.
Maia is a Greek goddess. She is the daughter of Atlas and the mother of Hermes. The month of May might have been named after her.
Makara is a legendary Vedic (Hindu) water animal something like a crocodile.
The Malleus Magnificarium is a book written by monks which claims to describe the ways of witches. It was written in 1486.
Malphas is the thirty ninth Demon listed in the Ars Goetica. He is a mighty Great President of Hell, having forty legions of demons under his command. He builds houses, high towers and strongholds, throws down the buildings of the enemies, can destroy the enemies' desires or thoughts (and/or make them known to the conjurer) and all what they have done, gives good familiars, and can bring quickly artificers together from all places of the world. Malphas accepts willingly and kindly any sacrifice offered to him, but then he will deceive the conjurer. He is depicted as a crow that after a while or under request changes shape into a man, and speaks with a hoarse voice.
Malthus is an Earl of Hell and the thirty eighth Demon listed in the Ars Goetica. He commands 26 legions of demons and is said to have a rough voice when speaking. He is often depicted in the shape of a stork. Malthus builds towers and fills them with ammunition and weapons, an armorer of sorts. He is also said to send his legions into battle, or to places designated by higher commanding demons.
Mama Killa, in Incan mythology, was one of the daughters of Viracocha.
Mama Sera is the Incan goddess of grain (maize).
Mammon is a Semitic word that means "money" or "wealth". It is personified in the New Testament as a false god who represents greed. Mammon is probably the Third Horseman of the Apocalypse.
Manannán is a Celtic sea god.
Mandrake is a plant with strong poisonous drugs in the root, which sometimes looks like a person. According to myth the mandrake root was a person and would emit a deathly scream when uprooted, killing all living people and animals in hearing range. This plant was considered very magically potent.
Manes are cthonic ghosts from Roman tradition. They were often offered sacrifices, possibly by burial.
Mani is the Nordic name for the Moon.
Manticore is a Persian monster whose name means "man-eater". It is said to have a man's head, the mouth open to the ears with three rows of shark like teeth, and a scorpion-like tail that could hurl arrow like projectiles. This legend is most likely based on the tiger.
The Mantyger is a mythic beast unrelated to the manticore. It is probably based on the baboon.
Marbendlar are Nordic merfolk.
Marchosias (name means 'Marquis'), the thirty fifth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia, is a powerful Great Marquis of Hell, commanding thirty legions of demons. He is a strong and excellent fighter and very reliable to the conjurer, giving true answers to all questions. Marchosias hoped after one thousand and two hundred years to return to heaven with the non-fallen angels, but he is deceived in that hope. He is depicted as a wolf with a man's form as well as a griffin's wings and a serpent's tail, that under request changes shape into a man.
Marduk is the patron god of Babylon. Over time he rose to the head of his pantheon.
Mares, or Night-Mares, are malignant spirits that sit on the chests of sleeping people, making it hard to breathe.
Marids are a type of Djinn associated with the sea.
Mars is the Roman personification of war. The cross, symbolic of the spokes of war-chariot wheels, is one of his symbols. Jesus was sacrificed to Mars. Greece knew him as Ares. March is named after him because early Spring is the traditional time for war. The symbol for "maleness" is his symbol - a stylized spear and shield. Mars is probably the Second Horseman of the Apocalypse.
Martyrdom is a strategy used by Abrahamic religions in which individual believers allow others to kill them in order to glorify their religion. It is extremely effective. People die but their spirits live on...
Masamune Katanas are Japanese swords made by the greatest of Japanese legendary smiths Masamune. ~1300 CE.
Matrona is a Celtic mother goddess.
Mazu is a Chinese goddess of the sea who protects fishermen and sailors.
Mecca is one of the sacred cities of Islam. It is the city that all the pagan temples were located in before Muhammed converted the population to Islam.
Medea was an sorceress in the Mediterranean in ancient times. It was said that hatred was central to her powers.
Medina is another sacred city of Islam.
Medusa was one of the Gorgon sisters who slept with Apollo in Athena's temple. For punishment, Athena turned Medusa into a hideous snake haired monster which turned to stone all that gazed upon her. She was eventually slain and her head merged with the Aegis shield, giving it the power to petrify.
Megingjörð is Thor's magical "Belt of Power", given to him by Grid. It doubles his strength, assisting him in wielding Mjolnir.
Meg of Meldon was a witch who lived in the early 1600's.
Melek Taus is the Yazidi Peacock Angel and ruler of the world. He shares some similarities to Lucifer the fallen angel and so Yazidis are considered devil worshippers by some Sunni fanatics e.g. ISIS/Daesh.
Melinoë (Μηλινόη) is a chthonic nymph or goddess invoked in one of the Orphic Hymns and propitiated as a bringer of nightmares and madness. The hymns, of uncertain date but probably composed in the 2nd or 3rd century AD, are liturgical texts for the mystery religion known as Orphism. In the hymn, Melinoë has characteristics that seem similar to Hecate and the Erinyes.
Melissae are honey-bee nymphs.
Mephistopholes ("Destoyer-Liar") is a Germanic devil. He is summoned by Faust in the legend for the purpose of buying his soul in the classic "deal with the Devil". Unlike some well known spirits and devils, this one is only a few hundred years old, dating from the Renaissance.
Mephit is a Hebrew word that means "Destroyer".
Mercury is the Roman god of messengers and sorcery.
Meretseger ('She Who Loves Silence') is an Egyptian cobra goddess and patron of the Theban Necropolis. She is associated with a mountain that overlooks the Valley of the Kings.
Merrow are Gaelic merpeople.
Metatron ("The Measurer") is an archangel. The name Metatron is not mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, nor is it mentioned in the early Enoch literature. Although Metatron is mentioned in a few brief passages in the Talmud, he appears primarily in mystical Kabbalistic texts within the Rabbinic literature. In that tradition, he is the highest of the angels and serves as the celestial scribe or "recording angel". According to Jewish apocrypha, Metatron is the name Enoch received, after his transformation into an angel. The book of Genesis (5:24) is often cited as evidence of Enoch's bodily ascension into heaven: "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him."
The Methodist Church is a Protestant church that during the First Great Awakening tended to have a "New White" congregation.
Metrical charms are historic Anglo Saxon spells. Twelve are known to exist: Æcerbot (improve farmland fertility), Wid Dweorh (unknown, possibly cure fever and insomnia), Against a Wen (cure/remove cyst or skin blemish), A Journey Charm (a Christian prayer asking for God's blessing), For a Swarm of Bees (protect from bees), For Loss of Cattle (three variations, finds lost cows), For Delayed Birth (induce labor), For the Water-Elf Disease (cure pale and ill-looking nails and watery eyes), Nine Herbs Charm (cure infection with herbs), Wið færstice (cure for sudden pain)
Michael is an Archangel.
Michael Scott was a famous medieval Wizard.
Michael's Ring could control demons. It was entrusted to Solomon by the archangel Michael.
Mictlantecuhtli is a Mexican god of the underworld.
Midas was a legendarily greedy king who was cursed to turn all he touched into gold.
Midgard ("Middle-Earth") is the Germanic name for the lands inhabited by humans mid-way between Niflheim, the frozen land in the north, and Muspelheim, the fiery land in the south. Interestingly the name means the same as does the name of the Mediterranean.
Migo ("Wild Man") is another name for the Yetis of the Himalayas. In Persian it means "Shrimp". H.P. Lovecraft combined these two ideas when he included Mi-Go in his fiction.
The Spring of Mimir is said to lie beneath the root of Yggdrasil in the land of the Frost Jotnar. Its waters provide wisdom.
Mimung is a legendary English sword forged by Wayland the Smith.
Min is the Egyptian god of fertility. He can be identified by his erect penis and his flail. He is the son of Isis and Osiris.
Minerva is the Roman name for the goddess the Greeks call Athena.
The Minotaur ("Minos' bull") was a bull headed man imprisoned in the Labyrinth. He was the son of the Cretan Bull and Minos' wife Pasiphae. Theseus killed him.
Mirror armor is a primitive type of plate armor that was said to reflect the Evil Eye.
Mistilteinn is a Nordic magic sword that would never go blunt. Hrómund won it from the witch-king Þrainn.
Mithras is a Persian (Parthian) war god that was became popular rival to Christianity among the Roman legions in the early centuries CE.
Mixcoatl ('Cloud Serpent') is a Mexican god of the hunt. He may be the same as the Tlaxcalan god Camaxtli. He is represented with a black mask over his eyes and distinctive red and white “candy-cane stripes” painted on his body. In addition, Mixcoatl can usually be distinguished by his hunting gear, which includes a bow and arrows and a net or basket for carrying dead game.
Mjolnir is the hammer of Thor, the Nordic god of the lightning strike. It was forged with a head intended for a two handed hammer, but the haft was accidentally made too short. However Thor can wield it in one hand using his magical gloves and belt.
Mnemosyne is a Greek Titan and mother of the Muses.
The Moirai are the Greek name for "the Fates", three women who personified destiny: Clotho the spinner, Lachesis the measurer, and Atropos the wielder of the shears of death.
Moloch ("King") is a god of Canaan and the Phoenicians (i.e. Ammonites). He is known for demanding child sacrifice through flames. His worship is specifically condemned in the Old Testament books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus. Some legends refer to a metal statue of Moloch used for sacrifice in the same manner as the Brazen Bull; some of these legends call him Cronus.
Monopods are a Greek legendary species or race of people with only one leg and one huge foot who were said to live in India. When they slept, they used their foot as an umbrella to shade them. These people were featured in C.S. Lewis' fantasy novel The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
Monsignor is a rank or title given to exceptional Priests to honor them in the Catholic Church.
Morax (Latin for 'that which delays or stops') is a Great Earl and President of Hell, having thirty-six legions of demons under his command. He is the twenty first Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. Morax teaches Astronomy and all other liberal sciences, and gives good and wise familiars that know the virtues of all herbs and precious stones. He is depicted as a big bull with the face of a man.
Morrigan is a Celtic crone goddess.
Mummies are Egyptian corpses that have been carefully, ritualistically preserved. The intent of preservation is for eventual re-use by the dead person's spirit...
Muramasa Katanas were forged by the legendary smith Muramasa. "They were popularly believed to hunger for blood and to impel their warrior to commit murder or suicide." ~1500 CE
Murmur is a Great Duke and Earl of Hell, and has thirty legions of demons under his command. He is the fifty fourth entry in the Ars Goetia. He teaches Philosophy, and can oblige the souls of the deceased to appear before the conjurer to answer every desired question. Murmur is depicted as a soldier riding a Vulture or a Griffin, and wearing a ducal crown. Two of his ministers go before him making the sound of trumpets. 'Murmur' in Latin means noise, whisper, murmur, and the sound of the trumpet.
Muses are Greek goddesses of the arts. There are nine: Clio, Thalia, Erato, Euterpe, Polyhymnia, Calliope, Terpsichore, Urania, and Melpomene.
Muspelheim is the Germanic name for a land of fire in the south where Surtr the black Jotunn comes from. This is most likely referring to the Sahara desert in Africa which is south of Scandanavia where Germanics come from.
Myiagros is a Greek title that means "he who chases away flies". It means the same thing as the phrase "lord of the flies" - Beelzebub.
Naamah is a succubus associated with divination and childhood epilepsy (Zohar).
Naberius is said to be the most valiant Marquis of Hell, and has nineteen legions of demons under his command. He is the twenty fourth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He makes men cunning in all arts, but especially in rhetoric, speaking with a hoarse voice. He also restores lost dignities and honors. Naberius appears as a three-headed dog or a raven. He has a raucous voice but presents himself as eloquent and amiable. He teaches the art of gracious living. He is depicted as a crow or a black crane. It is unclear if there is an association with the Greek Cerberus.
Nachzehrer is a type of Germanic cannibalistic revenant.
Naegling ("Nail") is a sword Beowulf used to fight a dragon. Unfortunately it broke. In medieval German messer swords, the "nail" is a third quillon (crossbar) protecting the hand.
Naga are a type of Hindu snake-person spirit.
Naghlring is a Nordic legendary sword.
Naiads are Greek freshwater nymphs.
In Japanese mythology, the Namazu (鯰) or Ōnamazu (大鯰) is a giant catfish who causes earthquakes. He lives in the mud under the islands of Japan, and is guarded by the god Kashima who restrains the catfish with a stone. When Kashima lets his guard fall, Namazu thrashes about, causing violent earthquakes.
Nanook is the Inuit (Eskimo) god of polar bears.
Nasr is a Semitic god mentioned in Quran 71:23.
Neb-er-tcher is an Egyptian god whose name means "Lord of the Uttermost Limit". He is possibly the same as the Abrahamic God. He tells the story of Creation in the Bremner-Rhine Papyrus.
Necromancy is the Latin (Roman) name for conjuring dead spirits for the purpose of asking them questions. No zombies involved. The so-called "Witch of Endor" was a Biblical necromancer (though not necessarily a Roman one). "Spirit Mediums", people who hold seances and the like are necromancers. This is one of the Seven Forbidden Arts in the Rennaissance.
Neith is an Egyptian goddess of archery, warfare, hunting and childbirth. Her symbol is a stylised pair if crossed arrows under a shield. Similar to the Greek Artemis.
The Nemean Dragon was a giant serpent which guarded the sacred grove of Zeus in the Greek town of Nemea. During the War of the Seven Against Thebes it killed the infant Opheltes, and was destroyed by the heroes of the campaign.
The Nemean Lion was a magical lion in Nemea whose skin was impervious to weapons. Heracles killed the beast barehanded and took its pelt for his own armor.
Nephele is a cloud nymph that Zeus made look like Hera. The purpose of this was to catch Ixion seducing "Hera". Once this happened, Ixion was struck by lighting and chained to a burning wheel in the sky in punishment.
Nephilim ('the fallen ones') are a somewhat mysterious group of people listed in the Torah/Old Testament. See Genesis 6:4, Numbers 13:33, Ezekiel 32:27. Often translated as "giants" in many Bibles.
Nephthys is an Egyptian god. She is a daughter of Nub and Keb and the mother of Anubis.
Neptune is the Roman god of the sea and with Jupiter and Pluto one of the three rulers of the gods. He is equivalent to the Greek Poseidon.
Nergal ("Dunghill Rooster") is a Semitic god, patron of the city of Cuth, who is mentioned in 2 Kings 17:30. He is lion-like in appearance.
Niflheim is the Germanic name for a land of cold in the north. This probably is referring to the Arctic region.
Nike is the Greek goddess of victory and the daughter of the Titans Pallas and Styx as well as the sister of Kratos (Power), Bia (Force), and Zelus (Zeal). She assumes the role of the divine Charioteer, a role in which she is often portrayed in Classical Greek art.
The Nine Diseases are the sons of the Finnish goddess Loviatar and the wind. According to the version told in the Kalevala they are Pistos (consumption), Ähky (colic), Luuvalo (gout), Riisi (rickets), Paise (ulcer), Rupi (scab), Syöjä (cancer), and Rutto (plague). The ninth, a warlock and the worst of all, remains unnamed. He, the personification of envy, is banished by his mother to become the scourge of mankind
The Nine-Headed Bird (九頭鳥/九头鸟), also called the "Nine Phoenix" (九凤), is one of the earliest forms of the Chinese phoenix, worshiped by ancient natives in Hubei Province, which during the Warring States period was part of the kingdom of Chu (楚). Due to the hostile relationship between the Kingdom of Chu and its former overlord, the reigning Zhou Dynasty, the nine-headed bird, being the totem creature of the Chu people, was demonised as a result.
Ninja is another name for Shinobi.
Ninshubur is a goddess and Inanna's second in command in Sumerian mythology.
Níðhöggr is a Nordic dragon of the underworld which eternally gnaws at the roots of the world tree Yggdrasil.
A Nithing Pole is used by Wizards/Asatruar to curse people.
Nix are Germanic water spirits.
Nommo is the name of the Dogon (West African) water god. It is also the name of his children, the merfolk.
The Norns are the Nordic Fates.
Nosferatu ("Repugnant") is a modification of a Romanian word that is used to refer to the Devil.
Nothung is a legendary Nordic sword.
Notus is the Greek god of the south wind.
Nurikabe are Japanese creatures that mimic walls.
Nut is the Egyptian Sky-goddess.
Nüwa is a Chinese goddess who is said to have created humanity.
Nyami Nyami is a river dragon god of the Zambezi River in Africa.
Nyanbe-a-weh is a god of the Sarpo tribe in West Africa and formerly the patron god of General Butt Naked of Liberia. He demands human sacrifices, cannibalism and the wearing of women's clothing by his warriors.
Nymphs are Greek spirits with the form of young, beautiful maidens. They are typically associated with nature.
Nymphae Avernales ("Infernal Nymphs") are the Roman name for the Lampads.
Oceanus is the Greek Titan who is the personification of the open Atlantic Ocean.
Odin is the Nordic god of inspired mania. He is head of the Nordic pantheon. Rome associated him with Mercury. Wednesday is named after him. Snorri said he was once a human leader from Asia who was deified. There are parallels between Jesus and Odin.
Ofannim are a type of six winged Angel.
Ogres are the French name for strong, brutal, hairy human-like creatures that eat human flesh. The same creature is known in Italian as Orco and Old English as Orcneas. These are what inspired Tolkein's Orcs. This creature descended from or serves the Roman god Orcus, punisher of broken oaths. Perhaps the Ogre is a human who broke an oath and was cursed by Orcus to become a savage cannibal.
Oladevi is the Hindu goddess of cholera and companion of Shitala.
The Old Man of the Mountain was the leader of the Shi'ite Assassins.
The Old Night Scather is a dragon mentioned in Beowulf. He has great age; is winged, fiery, and reptilian in form; lives in a stolen barrow within which he lies on his hoard; is disturbed by a theft; and takes violent airborne revenge on the lands all about. This dragon is the inspiration for Smaug in The Hobbit.
The Olympics are a Greek pagan festival celebrating athleticism in honor of the Twelve Olympians.
Olympus is the mountain that the twelve Greek gods live on.
Oni are a type of Japanese supernatural monster spirit.
Onryo are a type of Japanese revenant.
Ophanim are wheel like angels.
Orc is an Anglo or Italian name for what the French call Ogres; cannibalistic oath breakers who honor Orcus.
Orco is a sea monster mentioned in Orlando Furioso.
Orcus is the Roman god of the broken oath. He is patron to Orcs, Ogres and Warlocks. He is a devil ("slanderer") in that he represents people whose word is worthless.
Orias, the fifty ninth Demon in the Ars Goetia, is a Great Marquis of Hell, and has thirty legions of demons under his command. He knows and teaches the virtues of the stars and the mansions of the planets; he also gives dignities, prelacies [?], and the favor of friends and foes, and can metamorphose a man into any shape.
Orobas ("incense") is the fifty fifth entry in the Ars Goetia. He is a powerful Great Prince of Hell, having twenty legions of demons under his control. He gives true answers of things past, present and to come, divinity, and the creation of the world; he also confers dignities and prelacies, and the favour of friends and foes. Orobas is faithful to the conjurer, does not permit that any spirit tempts him, and never deceives anyone. He is depicted as a horse that changes into a man under the conjurer's request.
Orthrus was a two headed dog born to Echidna and Typhon in Greek myth. He was Cerebrus' brother. Orthrus died guarding Geryon's herd of cattle from Heracles.
Ose ("the mouth",or perhaps "the hater") is a Great President of Hell, ruling three legions of demons. He is the fifty seventh Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He makes men wise in all liberal sciences and gives true answers concerning divine and secret things; he also brings insanity to any person the conjurer wishes, making him/her believe that he/she is the creature or thing the magician desired, or makes that person think he is a king and wearing a crown, or a Pope. Ose is depicted as a leopard that after a while changes into a man.
Osiris is the Egyptian god of mummies and the afterlife. He was killed by Set but fathered Horus posthumously. He is the son of Nut and Keb.
Ox Head is one of two underworld guardians in Chinese mythology. Horse Head is the other.
Pachamama was one of the daughers of Viracocha in Incan mythology.
Paidia is the Greek goddess of play and amusement. She is one of Aphrodite's companions.
King Paimon (also Paimonia, Paymon) is the ninth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is one of the Kings of Hell, more obedient to Lucifer than other kings are, and has two hundred legions of demons under his rule. He has a great voice and roars as soon as he comes, speaking in this manner for a while, until the conjurer compels him and then he answers clearly the questions he is asked. When the conjurer invokes this demon he must look towards the northwest, for there is where he has his house, and when Paimon appears he must be allowed to ask what he wishes and be answered, in order to obtain the same from him. Paimon teaches all arts, philosophies and sciences, and secret things; he can reveal all mysteries of the Earth, wind and water, what the mind is, and where it is, and everything the conjurer wants to know, gives good familiars, dignities and confirms them, binds men to the conjurer's will. If Paimon is cited alone, some offering or sacrifice must be done, and he will accept it; then two kings called Beball (Bebal or Labal) and Abalam (Abalim) will go to him together with other spirits, often twenty-five legions; but these other spirits do not always come unless the conjurer call upon them. Paimon is depicted as a man with an effeminate face, wearing a precious crown, and riding a dromedary. Before him often goes a host demons with the shape of men, playing trumpets, cymbals, and any other sort of musical instruments.
Paladins were French Catholic knights in the service of Charlemagne during the Dark Ages in Europe.
Pallas was a Titan who was accidentally killed by Athena. Nike was her daughter. After her death, Athena took on the name Pallas herself as Pallas Athena.
Pananggalan are southeast Asian vampire women who can detach their head and guts from the body and fly around in this form.
Pandemonium ("All Demons") is the capital city of Hell in the famous novel Paradise Lost.
Panlong are Chinese water dragons.
Patara in Xanthos, Greece was an Oracle dedicated to Apollo.
Penia is the Greek goddess of poverty.
Papsukkal is an Assyrian messenger deity associated with Lammasu.
Paradise ("Sheltered Garden") in Abrahamic religion is where the souls of good people go when they die.
Pasiphae was the wife of the King of Minos and a sorceress. Her lust for the Cretan Bull led to her becoming the mother of the Minotaur.
Pastors are Priests who are in charge of a Parish.
Pax is the Roman goddess of peace.
Pazuzu, in Akkadian, Sumerian and Babylonian mythology, is the demon of the southwest wind known for bringing famine during dry seasons, and locusts during rainy seasons. Pazuzu was said to be invoked in amulets, which combat the powers of his rival, the malicious goddess Lamashtu, who was believed to cause harm to mother and child during childbirth. Although Pazuzu is, himself, an evil spirit, he drives away other evil spirits, therefore protecting humans against plagues and misfortunes. Pazusu is often depicted as a combination of diverse animal and human parts. He has the body of a man, the head of a lion or dog, eagle-like taloned feet, two pairs of wings, a scorpion's tail, and a serpentine penis. He is often depicted with his right hand pointing upward and left hand pointing down.
Pegasus is a winged horse in Greek legend that sprang from Zeus' brow at the same time Athena did, making them something like siblings. Bellerephon rode Pegasus when he slew Chimera.
Pele is the Hawaiian volcano goddess.
Peluda was a French monster or dragon, known as "the shaggy beast" because of its spine covered body.
Penemue is a Watcher who taught mankind the art of writing with ink and paper, the bitter and the sweet, and the secrets of wisdom. 1 Enoch 69.8
Percunnas ('Percussion', i.e. the striker) is the Lithuanian name for the Russian god Perun.
Persephone is the Greek queen of the underworld.
Perseus was the Greek hero who saved Andromeda from the sea dragon Cetus using Medusa's head.
Perun (the Striker) is the Russian name for the storm god and head of the pantheon. He represents the warrior elite and is worshipped from mountaintop fortresses.
Pharoahs were Egyptian god-kings in ancient times.
Phenex is a Great Marquis of Hell and the thirty seventh Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He has twenty legions of demons under his command. He teaches all wonderful sciences, is an excellent poet, and is very obedient to the conjuror. Phenex hopes to return to the Seventh Throne in Heaven after 1,200 years, but he is deceived in this hope. He is depicted as a phoenix, which sings sweet notes with the voice of a child, but the conjurer must warn his companions (for he is not to be alone) not to hear them and ask him to take a human shape, which the demon will do after a certain amount of time.
Phlegathon ("Flaming") is one of the five cthonic rivers in Greek myth.
Phobos is the lion headed Greek god of Fear (of violence and warfare). He is the twin brother of Deimos and son of Ares and Aphrodite.
The Phoenix is a legendary Greek bird of flame that dies in a burning pyre but is reborn from the egg found in the ashes.
Phorcys is the Greco-Roman consort of Ceto and the god of the dangers of the sea depths. He is the father of Medusa and the Sirens. His parents are Pontus and Gaia.
Pixies are British cthonic spirits. It is possible that they are the manes/ghosts of a pre-Celtic people.
The Pleiades, companions of Artemis, were the seven daughters of the titan Atlas and the sea-nymph Pleione born on Mount Cyllene. They are the sisters of Calypso, Hyas, the Hyades, and the Hesperides. The Pleiades were nymphs in the train of Artemis, and together with the seven Hyades were called the Atlantides, Dodonides, or Nysiades, nursemaids and teachers to the infant Bacchus. They once met Solomon (Testament of Solomon)
Pluto is the Roman god of the underworld. His name is related to buried wealth.
Pratyangira is a lion headed Hindu god associated with Shakti.
Polyphemus was the name of a Cyclops in Greek legend who was encountered by Odysseus.
The Pope is the spiritual successor to Caesar. Only the Pope can provide the Holy Roman Imperial crown to a would be ruler. Charlemagne knelt to the Pope and Saint Patrick was a Roman Catholic who worked for the Pope.
Poppets are dolls used to cast spells on others via the Laws of Sympathy (the doll looks like the target) and Contagion (real hair, blood etc from target used in the doll). While commonly called "Voodoo dolls" they are actually used in Wizardry.
Poseidon is the Greek god who rules the sea. His weapon is the Trident. He is known as the "Earth Shaker" and the god of horses. Neptune is his Roman equivalent.
Prometheus is a Greek Titan who in legend stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind. In punishment he was chained up at the mercy of a giant bird which tore out and devoured his liver every day, after it had regenerated from the last time it was torn out.
Prophasis is the Greek goddess of excuses.
In Greek mythology, Proteus (Πρωτεύς) is an early sea-god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea". Some who ascribe to him a specific domain call him the god of "elusive sea change", which suggests the constantly changing nature of the sea or the liquid quality of water in general. He can foretell the future, but, in a mytheme familiar to several cultures, will change his shape to avoid having to; he will answer only to someone who is capable of capturing the beast. From this feature of Proteus comes the adjective protean, with the general meaning of "versatile", "mutable", "capable of assuming many forms".
Ptah is the Egyptian creator god.
Purgatory is, according to Roman Catholic teaching, the state or place of purification or temporary punishment by which those who die with non-mortal sins and so in the state of grace are made ready for the Beatific Vision in Heaven.
Purson is a Great King of Hell and the twentieth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia, being served and obeyed by twenty-two legions of demons. He knows of hidden things, can find treasures, and tells past, present and future. Taking a human or aerial body he answers truly of all secret and divine things of Earth and the creation of the world. He also brings good familiars. Purson is depicted as a man with the face of a lion, carrying a ferocious viper in his hand, and riding a bear. Before him there can be heard many trumpets sounding.
Pyromancy is the Latin name for the practice of gathering mystical information by gazing into flames. This is
not about throwing fireballs. This is one of the Seven Forbidden Arts in the Rennaissance.
Python was Gaia's sacred earth dragon which guarded the oracle at Delphi. Apollo killed Python and hurled its corpse down into a crack in the Earth. The fumes from Python's decaying corpse inspired the prophecies given by the priestess at the oracle.
Quern-biter was the sword of Haakon I of Norway and his follower, Thoralf Skolinson the Strong, said to be sharp enough to cut through quernstones.
Quetzalcoatl was the Mexican name for the feathered serpent god.
Qi-gu is the Chinese goddess of toilets.
Ra is the Egyptian god of the sun.
Rabbis are Jewish religious experts.
Rafael is an Archangel.
Ragnorak is the great war at the end of the world in Norse mythology. The Norse gods will lose this war but Thor's son will inherit his father's strength, implying a continuation of the world in some form.
Raijen is the Shinto (Japanese) god of thunder. A variation on this character was used for a Mortal Kombat character.
The Rain Dance of Queen Modjadji, The Rain Queen of the Balobedu people is said to summon rain.
Rakshasa are a type of Hindu spirit. Their literary origins can be traced to Vedic sources through Hymn 87 of the tenth mandala of the Rig Veda. Here they are classified amongst the Yatudhanas, demonic creatures who consume the flesh of the humans.
Raktabija ("Blood Seed") was an enemy of the Hindu gods whose blood would spawn new warriors. He was defeated by Kali who licked up all his spilled blood.
Raktabat is the Hindu goddess of blood infections and a companion of Shitala.
Rama is a Hindu demigod or hero of legend.
Râmêêl is one of the leaders of the Watchers. In the Sibylline Oracles he is referred to as one of the five angels who lead the souls of men to judgement.
Râmîêl is one of the leaders of the Watchers according to the Book of Enoch. In Enoch he is listed separately from Râmêêl indicating they are not the same being.
Rangers are warriors who range over a large rural or wilderness area. Missile weapons are useful to such warriors but dual wielding is not especially associated with real world Rangers. Nor is nature magic (though it might be helpful) or Druidism required to be a Ranger. Or roundhouse kicks (Chuck Norris) or a royal heritage (Aragorn). But a horse helps a lot. The Mongol hordes were made up of Rangers.
Rasputin was a legendary Slavic mystic who was extraordinarily difficult to kill. He was advisor to the Tsarina of the Romanovs just before they were overthrown
Ratatoskr is the Nordic squirrel that carries taunts and insults up from Niohoggr at the roots of Yggdrasil and the eagle perched on top.
Raum is the fortieth Demon listed in the Ars Goetica. He is a Great Earl of Hell, ruling thirty legions of demons. He is depicted as a crow which adopts human form at the request of the conjurer. Raum steals treasures out of kings' houses, carrying them where he wishes, and destroys cities and dignities of men (he is said to have great dispraise for dignities). Raum can also tell things past, present and future, reconcile friends and foes, and invoke love.
Redcaps are murderous British soldier faeries known for using iron.
Refil is the sword of Regin.
Renenutet is an Egyptian harvest goddess.
The Book of Revelation is a prophecy made during the first few centuries C.E. which predicted the thousand year reign of Christ and the Saints in the form of the Catholic Church keeping order in Europe. It also predicts the Age of Imperialism which ended with "fire from heaven" i.e. nuclear and incendiary bombs from heavy bombers. The Beast was Caesar who demanded he be worshipped. The Beast from the Earth was the pagan Roman imperial cult. The time that was predicted in Revelation is now in the past.
A Revenant ("Returner") is a Latin word for a visible ghost or animated corpse that was believed to return from the grave to terrorize the living.
Rhea is Zeus' and Hera's mother.
The Rhodian Dragons were a giant dragon and its spawn which infested the Greek island of Rhodes. The beasts were destroyed by the hero Phorbas and the island freed.
Rhongomyniad was King Arthur's spear. ~400 CE
Ridill is a magical sword that was found in the hoard of Fafnir the dragon.
The Roc is a bird so enormous it preys on elephants.
Roland, or Orlando, was a particularly important Paladin.
The Roman Catholic Church is the worldwide Church, based in Rome, headed by the Pope, and made up of Priests, Bishops etc. It is the largest religion in the world. The Catholic (which means "universal" i.e. for everyone) Church has made it it's project to advise would be successors to Caesar's throne and thereby civilize them. Thus it emphasizes "works" - what people actually DO - in contrast to the rival doctrine of "faith only".
The Roman Cross is a modification of the swastika in which one spoke is lengthened so that it can be stuck in the ground. The "motion" lines on the outside of the cross are also left out because this cross was stationary. This is the cross that Jesus was crucified on as a sacrifice to Mars. However Jesus' faith co-opted the cross when he submitting to it in martyrdom.
Rome is the sacred homeland of all the Latin people. It is Saint Augustine's City of God.
Romulus and Remus were the legendary founders of Rome who were raised by a she-wolf.
Ronové is the twenty seventh Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is a Marquis and Great Earl of Hell, commanding twenty legions of demons. He teaches Rhetoric, languages, and gives good and loyal servants and the favour of friends and foes. He is described as a monster holding a staff, without detailing his appearance. He is also described as taker of old souls; often coming to earth to harvest souls of decrepit humans and animals near death.
Runes are Germanic written letters, originally carved into wands (instead of written on paper) that are also used to enchant objects. Odin is said to know the rune that can bring the dead back to life. Other runes are found on weaponry. For example, weapons had the Tyr rune - the rune for the Father in Heaven - on them two or more times in order to invoke Tyr for victory in battle. Runestones - immobile boulders with runes carved on them - were a very common use of runes. Presumably they created an aura in an area defined by the runes on the rock.
Rusalka are Slavic river mermaids.
Sabnock, forty third Demon listed in the Ars Goetia, is a mighty Great Marquis of Hell, who has 50 legions of demons under his command. He builds high towers, castles and cities, furnishing them with weapons, ammunition, etc., gives good familiars, and can afflict men for several days making their wounds and sores gangrenous or filling them with worms. Sabnock is depicted as a soldier with armor and weapons, the head of a lion, and riding a pale horse.
Sacamantecas are Spanish warlocks who harvest human fat.
The Sagas of the Icelanders are a group of important Nordic legends.
Saints originally were Christians who had been martyred by pagans. Sainthood is now an honorary title bestowed posthumously by the Catholic Church on exceptional individuals who were particularly pious.
Salamanders have long been thought to be associated with fire because they showed themselves when rotting wood was burnt. In reality they were fleeing the flames, but spiritually it was felt they were able to resist or destroy flames at will. They were considered to be a sort of tiny dragon. In the Renaissance they were declared the Elemental of Fire.
"Salamander Skin" clothing was woven from asbestos and was therefore resistant to fire.
Saleos (also Sallos and Zaleos) is the nineteenth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a mighty Great Duke (or Great Earl) of Hell, ruling thirty legions of demons. He is of a pacifist nature, and causes men to love women and women to love men. He is depicted as a gallant and handsome soldier, wearing a ducal crown, and riding a crocodile.
Samael is an important Archangel in Jewish tradition. He represents the Heavenly Host of God and is the Angel of Death. He is a grim but holy being of great significance. It is possible that some Kabbalists consider him to be a Fallen Angel like Lucifer. He is the "chief of Satans" (Deut. R. xi. 9; Jellinek, "B. H." i. 125), quite in the sense of "the prince of the devils" mentioned in Matt. ix. 34; but, on the other hand, he is "the great prince in heaven." (Pirḳe R. El. xiii., beginning), who rules over angels and powers (ib.; Martyrdom of Isaiah, ii. 2). As the incarnation of evil he is the celestial patron of the sinful empire of Rome, with which Edom and Esau are identified (Tan. on Gen. xxxii. 35; Jellinek, l.c. vi. 31, 109, etc.). He flies through the air like a bird (Targ. to Job xxviii. 7), and, while the ḥayyot and ofannim have only six wings, he has twelve, and commands a whole army of demons (Pirḳe R. El. xiii.)
Samsâpêêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Baron Samedi, whose name means "Baron Saturday", is the Voudou/Bokor loa (or god-spirit) who represents death. He is a West African version of the Grim Reaper. He is a cheerful cigar smoking party animal of a skeleton...
In Finnish mythology, the Sampo was a magical artifact of indeterminate type constructed by Ilmarinen that brought good fortune to its holder. When the Sampo was stolen, it is said that Ilmarinen's homeland fell upon hard times and he sent an expedition to retrieve it, but in the ensuing battle it was smashed and lost at sea.
Samyaza is a Watcher and one of the leaders of the fall from Heaven.
Sanshin are local mountain-tiger gods in Korea.
Santa Muerte is a death goddess worshipped by some pagan Mexicans. She is a sort of Grim Reaper type deity.
Sariel is a one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8) who taught mankind about the courses of the Moon.
Sarpanit is a goddess who is Marduk's consort.
Satan means literally "the enemy". Is is a title or description, not a name. According to the New Testament, Satan is also a devil/the Devil. In Dante’s Inferno, Satan is portrayed as a giant demon, frozen mid-breast in ice at the center of Hell. Satan has three faces and affixed under each chin are pairs of bat-like wings. As Satan beats his wings, he creates a cold wind which continues to freeze the ice surrounding him, and the other sinners in the Ninth Circle. The winds he creates are felt throughout the other circles of Hell. Each of his three mouths chews on Judas, Brutus, and Cassius. Dante illustrates a less powerful Satan than most standard depictions; he is slobbering, wordless, and receives the same punishments in Hell as the rest of the sinners.
Satarêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Saturn is the Roman name for the Greek sickle god Cronus.
Satyrs are Greek goat-men.
Satyrals are manticore like creatures.
Scapulomancy is the Latin name for reading the shoulder blades of ritualistically slaughtered animals. This is one of the Seven Forbidden Arts in the Rennaissance.
In Greek mythology, Scylla (Σκύλλα) was a monster that lived on one side of a narrow channel of water opposite its counterpart Charybdis. The two sides of the strait were within an arrow's range of each other—so close that sailors attempting to avoid Charybdis would pass too close to Scylla and vice versa. Scylla made her first appearance in Homer's Odyssey, where Odysseus and his crew encounter her and Charybdis on their travels. Later myth gave her an origin story as a beautiful nymph who gets turned into a monster.
The Second Horseman of the Apocalypse, War, wielded a sword and wore red. This represents the Roman Legions. In fact, this is probably Mars himself.
Seelie is a Celtic word for "happy and pleasant". Unseelie is clearly the opposite. These words were used to describe the Sidhe. "Seelie" is cognate with the word "silly" - they came from the same word originally.
Seir, seventieth entry in the Ars Goetia, is a Prince of Hell with 26 legions of demons under his command. He can go to any place on earth in a matter of seconds to accomplish the will of the conjurer, bring abundance, help in finding hidden treasures or in robbery, and is not a demon of evil but good nature, being mostly indifferent to evilness. He is depicted as a man riding a winged horse, and is said to be beautiful.
Se'irim are a type of Unclean Spirit in Jewish mysticism. They are goat-demons of the wilderness.
Sekhmet is the Egyptian goddess of war. She has the face of a lioness.
Selene is the Greek personification of the Moon.
Selkies are Scottish were-seals who are known to be very sexually attractive to humans.
Sêmîazâz is listed in the Book of Enoch as the leader of the 200 fallen angels who mated with humans.
Seraphim are a type of winged angel.
Seshat is the Egyptian goddess of writing and measurement.
Set, or Seth, is an ancient god of desert sterility from southern (or Upper) Egypt. His symbol is a strange animal that looks like a dog with square ears and a straight forked tail. Other heiroglyphs of animals are easily identifiable; it's not an elephant, or giraffe, dog or any number of other animals which is resembles because these all have other symbols which are obvious. Set is the brother and killer of Osiris, the god of mummies and the afterlife, and attempted rapist of his nephew (or brother - Bremner Rhind Papyrus) Horus. He is a son of Keb and Nut.
Seure was one of King Arthur's swords.
Sguaba Tuinne ("Wave Sweeper") is Lugh's magical boat.
Shades are the spirits of the buried dead, like Manes.
Shakti is the Hindu goddess of feminine creative power.
Shamans are people who interact with spirits. It is primarily a north Asian tradition but also exists in other parts of Asia and America.
Shamsiel, once a guardian of Eden as stated in the Zohar, served as one of the two chief aides to the archangel Uriel (the other aide being Hasdiel) when Uriel bore his standard into battle, and is the head of 365 legions of angels and also crowns prayers, accompanying them to the 5th heaven. In Jubilees, he is referred to as one of the Watchers. He is a fallen angel who teaches the signs of the sun.
Shango is a West African thunder god.
Sharur ("Smasher of Thousands") is a magical flying, talking mace that belongs to the god Ninurta.
Shax is a Great Marquis of Hell, forty fourth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia, and has power over 30 legions of demons on evil horses. He takes away the sight, hearing and understanding of any person under the conjurer's request, and steals money out of kings' houses, carrying it back to the people. He also steals horses and everything the conjurer asks. Shax can also discover hidden things if they are not kept by evil spirits, and sometimes gives good familiars, but sometimes those familiars deceive the conjurer. He should not be bothered too often. Shax is thought to be faithful and obedient, but is a great liar and will deceive the conjurer unless obliged to enter a magic triangle drawn on the floor. He will then speak marvellously and tell the truth. He knows when lies are told and uses these to teach lessons. He is depicted as a stork that speaks with a hoarse but subtle voice; his voice changes into a beautiful one once he entered the magic triangle.
Shen is a large Chinese legendary shellfish that is said to have powers of illusion and shapeshifting. It was associated with funerals.
Shebriri is a demon known in Jewish lore. He causes diseases of the eye. He can be banished by repeating his name over and over, subtracting part of the word each time e.g. "Shebriri Briri Riri Iri Ri". This is intended to make Shebriri disappear via the Law of Sympathy.
Shedu is another name for a Lammasu.
Shenlong ("Spirit Dragon") is a type of Chinese storm dragon.
Shesha is the King of Nagas. Vishnu rests upon him.
Shi-ites are Iranian Muslims. They are rivals to the Sunni Arabs.
Shinigame are Japanese death spirits.
Shinobi (also known as "Ninja") were Japanese medieval elite mercenaries from Iga famed for stealth. One of their techniques was to read the time from the level of dilation of cats' eyes.
Shinto is Japanese animism.
Shirime ("Butt-Eye") is a Japanese mythical creature with an eyeball in its anus.
Shirt-Wearers are honored, elite individuals in Lakota society.
Shiva is the Hindu goddess of destruction.
Shu is an Egyptian god representing air and dryness.
Shub-Niggurath is H.P. Lovecraft's twisted intepretation of the Semitic fertility goddess Ishtar, known as Venus to the Romans and Aphrodite to the Greeks. Her title, or one associated with her, is the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young. This is because eroticism leads to pregnancy and motherhood.
Shugenja were/are a type of Japanese monk or shaman.
Sidhe is a specifically Gaelic name for the "hidden people of the mounds".
Simurgh is another name for the Roc.
Sin-you are ferocious Chinese unicorn like creatures that have a profound hatred for lies and deceptions. Chinese rulers would in legend keep a sin-you to test whether people were telling the truth. If a person lied in the presence of the sin-you it would use its horn to skewer the liar through the heart.
Sirens are bird women whose song will lure sailors to their death on rocky cliffs. They are the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto and live on an unspecified island in the Mediterranean.
Sitala ("the cooling one") is the Hindu goddess of smallpox.
Sitra Akhra is a Jewish concept of a realm forsaken by God. It is very similar to the Christian Hell of the Damned.
Prince Sitri (also spelled Bitru, Sytry) is a Great Prince of Hell and the twelfth Demon in the Ars Goetia. He reigns over sixty legions of demons. He causes men to love women and vice versa, and can make people bare themselves naked if desired. He is depicted with the face of a leopard and the wings of a griffin, but under the conjurer's request he changes into a very beautiful man.
Sleipneir is Odin's eight legged horse.
Slender Man is a very young spirit that originated with an internet competition which has already inspired murder. It is depicted as an unnaturally tall, thin, faceless man in a suit.
Skalds are Nordic users of the supernatural power inherent in song, poetry and the like. They are similar to the Celtic Bards. Odin is patron of Skalds as well as the Runes (and Berserkers) making him the Germanic god of supernatural power.
Skidbladnir is Frey's folding boat, made by Dvergar.
Skull Towers were made by shamanistic Mongol conquerors to terrify and show dominance over conquered peoples.
Skylla is a monstrous sea-goddess whose body is ringed by carnivorous heads. She dwells in a cliffside cave opposite the whirlpool daemon Charybdis near the mouth of the Mediterranean.
Sol is the Roman and Nordic/Germanic name for the Sun. The Romans personified the Sun as a male Titan, equivalent to the Greek Helios; Nordics personified it as a female goddess. For a time he was worshipped as the One True God in the Roman Empire and was referred to with the title Sol Invictus.
Sorcery was a Roman divination technique which is known as "casting lots" in the Bible. Sorcerers would scatter objects on the ground and then analyze them often using a book for reference. It was something like the Chinese use of the I Ching. Tarot card reading, the Germanic practice of casting split branches and any number of other cultural practices are similar. Also known as Cleromancy.
Souls are a person's sense of self and ultimate identity. The Father in Heaven is God's soul. Souls are undetectable, unlike spirits.
Spectre (related to spectator, spectacle, inspect etc) is a Roman name for a spirit that is visible or otherwise can be perceived with ordinary senses.
Sphinxes are human headed (or animal headed) lions that are often associated with Egypt. There is a legendary statue of a Sphinx in Egypt.
Spiders were associated with the element of Air because they caught their food from the air in medieval and Renaissance European natural philosophy.
Spirits are personalities. The Heavenly Spirit is God's spirit. Books preserve spirits as do Bards and Skalds by reviving the personalities of people long dead for those still living. Necromancers also work with spirits. Perhaps spirits are what defines the supernatural realm.
Spriggans are Celtic spirits that can change size from tiny to giant.
Sprite is a variation on the word "spirit".
The Star of David (or Shield of David) is a mystical symbol used by many cultures which has been particularly embraced by Judaism.
The Steed of Abigor is a hell-horse made from the corpse of a horse from antedeluvial Eden.
Steropes is the name of a Greek cyclops.
Sterquilinus is the Roman god of feces. He appears in an episode of Beavis and Butthead with the slightly different name "Sterculius".
Stheno is the oldest of the three Gorgon sisters.
Stolas is the thirty sixth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is a Great Prince of Hell, commands twenty-six legions of demons, and teaches astronomy and the knowledge of poisonous plants, herbs and precious stones. He is also known as Stolos and Solas. He is depicted as either being a crowned owl with long legs, a raven, or a man.
Stone Circles were erected by pre-Celtic people in Western Europe. They likely had astronomical significance and/or acted as calendars.
Stregheria is an Italian-American sorcery tradition.
Strigoi are Romanian vampire-like revenants named after the Classical Strix.
Strix ("owl") are Classical evil bloodsucking owls.The earliest recorded tale of the strix is from the lost Ornithologia of the Greek author Boios, which is partially preserved in Antoninus Liberalis's Metamorphoses. This tells the story of Polyphonte and her two sons Agrios and Oreios (their father being a wild bear), who were punished for their cannibalism, like Lycaon, by being transformed into wild animals. Polyphonte became a strix "that cries by night, without food or drink, with head below and tips of feet above, a harbinger of war and civil strife to men". The first Latin allusion is in Plautus's Pseudolus, dated to 191 BCE, in which a cook, describing the cuisine of his inferiors, compares its action to that of the striges—i.e., disemboweling a hapless victim. Horace, in his Epodes, makes the strix's magical properties clear: its feathers are an ingredient in a love potion. Seneca the Younger, in his Hercules Furens, shows the striges dwelling on the outskirts of Tartarus. Ovid tells the story of striges attacking the legendary king Procas in his cradle, and how they were warded off with arbutus and placated with the meat of pigs, as an explanation for the custom of eating beans and bacon on the Kalends of June.
Styx is a river in Hades, said to originate near the Greek town of Feneos. Is is one of the five cthonic rivers in Greek legend and is associated with corrosion and hatred.
Succoth-benoth was a Babylonian god mentioned in 2 Kings 17:30
Succubi are malevolent spirits who come to sleeping men in the night in the form of a soul sucking sex partner, causing erotic dreams and poor health in the afflicted man. Women are plagued by a similar creature called the Incubus.
Sunnis are Arab Muslims. Islam came from Arabia.
Supay is the Incan cthonic god of Death.
Surtr is a black man from Africa with a flaming sword who will rise to power at the end of the world according to Nordic mythology.
Susanoo is the Shinto storm god. His appearance inspired the "Raiden" character in Mortal Kombat.
Suwa' is a Semitic god mentioned in Quran 71:23.
Suzaku is the Japanese name for the Vermillion Bird of the South.
Svarog is a Slavic god. He is the father of Dazbog.
Svarožič is a Slavic god associated with fire and war.
Swastikas are the original form of the Indo-European symbol for a four spoked wheel which is the type of wheel used in war chariots. It is an ethnic symbol of vehicular warfare used by a wide variety of Indo European cultures from England to India. The Celtic and Roman crosses are modifications of this symbol.
Sylph is the name for Air Elementals. The term originates in the Renaissance.
The Sylva Sylvarum is a book that claims to have a recipe for a magical potion.
A Synochitis is a stone used by Magi to bind spirits of the water so they may be interrogated.
Taba'et is a serpent that is said to be related to Tamiel the fifth Watcher.
Talos was a bronze giant which guarded the island of Crete, pelting passing ships with stones. He was slain by the Argonauts and the magic of the sorceress Medea.
Tamiel is the fifth Watcher leader listed in Enoch. He taught the children of men all of the wicked strikes of spirits, [the strikes of] demons, and the strikes of the embryo in the womb so that it may pass away (abortion), and [the strikes of the soul], the bites of the serpent, and the strikes which befall through the noontide heat, [which is called] the son of the serpent named Taba'et.
Taoism is a Chinese religion.
Taranis is the Celtic storm god.
Tarasque was a French river dragon tamed by Saint Martha. It had lion's head, six short legs like a bear's, an ox-like body covered with a turtle shell, and a scaly tail that ended in a scorpion's sting.
Tarnkappe is a Nordic cloak of invisibility.
Tartarus is the Greek name for the realm of magma underneath the underworld.
Tatsu is a Japanese dragon.
Taweret is the Egyptian hippo-goddess of pregnancy and childbirth.
Tefnut is an Egyptian god representing "the water above the firmament". In reality this region is outer space, a void, and not a watery region.
Tengri is the Mongol name for the Father in Heaven.
Tengu are a type of Japanese bird-man spirit associated with Shugendo, or Japanese Buddhist asceticism. They are descendants of the Chinese Tiangou.
Tenomei is a Japanese mythical humanoid creature whose eyes are on the palms of its hands.
Tepeyollotl ("Mountain Interior") is a Mexican god of earthquakes, mountains, jaguars and echoes.
The Testament of Solomon is a book about Goetia.
Tethys is a Titaness who is sister and wife to Oceanus. She raised Hera as a child. From her forehead sprout gray wings. She represents the source of fresh water springs that come from underground.
In Greek mythology, the Teumessian Fox was a gigantic fox that was destined never to be caught. It was said that it had been sent by Dionysus to prey upon the children of Thebes as a punishment for a national crime. Creon, the then Regent of Thebes, set Amphitryon the impossible task of destroying this beast. He discovered an apparently perfect solution to the problem by fetching the magical dog Laelaps, who was destined to catch everything it chased, to catch the Teumessian Fox. Zeus, faced with an inevitable contradiction due to the paradoxical nature of their mutually excluding abilities, turned the two beasts into stone. The pair were cast into the stars, and remain as Canis Major (Laelaps) and Canis Minor (Teumessian Fox).
Teutatis is a Celtic tribal god. He is often invoked by Asterix in the comic strip Asterix and Obelix.
Thalassa is a Greek Titan of the sea. She is Aphrodite's mother.
Thamaturgy is when holy prophets of the Abrahamic religions call upon God to work wonders. This is the tradition that "casts Divine spells" in fantasy games like Dungeons and Dragons. Elijah the prophet who called down fire on God's enemies was a Thamaturgist.
Thanatos is the Greek personification of peaceful death. He is probably the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse.
Thetis is a sea-nymph.
Theurgy is an originally Greek tradition in which the practitioners use ritual asking God to summon up invisible supernatural spirits. Jewish Kabbalah is a Theurgic tradition. Theurgy emphasizes using mystical ritual to become closer to God but there are also materialistic powers described in stories e.g. the Golem is animated by a Theurgistic spirit.
The Third Horseman of the Apocalypse, Famine, represented merchants, nobles and other wealthy people of the Classical world. Oil and wine represent luxury goods which are kept cheap unlike staple foodstuffs the peasants relied upon which rose in price dramatically.
Thor is the Nordic god of thunder. He wields the legendary hammer Mjolnir. Thursday is named after him.
Thoth is an Egyptian god with the head of an Ibis. He is married to Ma'at. Thoth is heavily associated with the arbitration of godly disputes, the arts of magic, the system of writing, the development of science, and the judgment of the dead.
Thrainn (Þrainn) was a Nordic witch-king of legend.
Thrudgelmir was Ymir's oldest son.
Thuận Thiên (順天, Heaven's Will) was the mythical sword of the Vietnamese King Lê Lợi, who liberated Vietnam from Ming occupation after ten years of fighting from 1418 until 1428. Lê Lợi then proclaimed himself king of the newly established Lê Dynasty. According to legend, the sword possessed magical power, which supposedly made Lê Lợi grow very tall. When he used the sword it gave him the strength of a thousand men, and the legend is often used to justify Lê Lợi's rule over Vietnam.
Thunderbird is the North American storm god. He is associated with the Bald Eagle and in legend killed all the dragons in the land.
Tiamat is a primal Babylonian salt-water goddess. She mixed with Abzu, the god of fresh water, to bring forth younger gods. She also bore dragons, merpeople and scorpion people. Her physical description in the Enuma Elish includes a tail, a thigh, "lower parts" (which shake together), a belly, an udder, ribs, a neck, a head, a skull, eyes, nostrils, a mouth, and lips. She has insides (possibly "entrails"), a heart, arteries, and blood.
Tiangou are a type of Chinese dog demon. They are the ancestors of Japanese Tengu.
The Tiger is the symbol of Korea. It is also a powerful symbol in India. Manticores are based on the tiger.
Tikoloshe are Zulu spirits in the form of small humanoids which can turn invisible. They are often sent by Bokor to harass their enemies.
Timorus is the Roman god of Fear.
Tinjis is the wife of Antaeus.
The Titanomachy was a war between the Titans and the Olympians in Greek mythology.
Titans in Greek myth are enormous godlike people who make up physical reality. For example, the Earth's axis of rotation was named Coeus the Titan in Greek myth. The first twelve Titans comprised the females Mnemosyne, Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea ("Ground", the Mother of Gods), and Themis and the males Oceanus ("Ocean"), Hyperion ("the High One"), Coeus (Sky's Axis of Rotation), Cronus (the Reaper), Crius, and Iapetus. A second set of Titans consisted of Hyperion's children Helios, Selene, and Eos; Coeus' children Lelantos, Leto, and Asteria; Iapetus' sons Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius; Oceanus' daughter Metis ("Wisdom"); and Crius' sons Astraeus, Pallas (killed by Athena), and Perses.
Tlahuizcalpanteuctli is the Mexican god of the morning star and the Lord of the Dawn. His similarities to Attar/Ishtar/Lucifer are striking.
Tlaloc is a Mexican storm god.
Tlazolteotl ("Lady of Lechery") is a Mexican goddess of sexual immorality.
Tonantzin is a Mexican mother goddess who influenced the concept of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
The Trance is the method a shaman uses to enter the spirit world.
Triptolemus is the Greek god who taught mankind agriculture.
Triton is the son of Poseidon and his wife and Poseidon's herald. He wields a trident like his father but is better known for his terrifying horn which he uses to announce the presence of the King of the Sea. He has been known to drown rivals. He has many sons who are also called Tritons.
Trivia is a Roman goddess of sorcery. She was a Titan who helped Jupiter in the Titanomachy and so was allowed to keep her status. She is equated with the Greek Hecate.
Troglodytes are people who live in caves.
Trolls are a specifically Germanic type of supernatural creature. Possibly they represent "wild people" who have not had contact with civilization. They are said to live in the Iron Wood to the east, suggesting a connection to Finns or Slavs. See Skáldskaparmál of the Prose Edda.
Trophonius (Τροφώνιος, "Nourisher") was a cthonic Greek hero or daimon or god—it was never certain which one—with a rich mythological tradition and an oracular cult at Lebadaea in Boeotia.
Tsui-goab ("Wounded Knee") is the name of the Khoisan creator god.
Tsukuyomi is the Shinto moon god. He was married to his sister Amaterasu, the sun goddess, until he killed the food goddess and she divorced him. This is why the Sun and Moon are rarely seen together. Susanoo, god of the storm, is also his brother.
Tuisto is the legendary ancestor of all the Nordic people. He is considered a god.
Tuonela is the Finnish Underworld.
Tuoni is the Finnish death god and father of Loviatar.
Tuonetar is the Finnish goddess of the underworld and mother of Loviatar.
Tupilaqs are Inuit constructs made of sewn together animal parts (and sometimes people parts) and sent to destroy an enemy.
Tûrêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Tyr the One Handed is the Nordic name for the Heavenly Father. Tuesday is named after him.
Tyrfing is a Nordic legendary sword with a golden hilt that would never miss a stroke, would never rust and would cut through stone and iron as easily as through clothes. The dwarves made the sword, and it shone and gleamed like fire. However, in revenge they cursed it so that it would kill a man every time it was used and that it would be the cause of three great evils. They also cursed it so that it would kill Svafrlami himself. It would cost the life of not only Svafrlami, but also the life of the Swedish hero Hjalmar.
Tzitzimimeh are Mexican star goddesses.
Ulfserkers ("Wolf Shirts") were elite Nordic warriors similar to Berserkers.
Unclean Spirits are mentioned in the Bible,
Undines are the Water Elementals in Renaissance mysticism.
The Unicorn ("One Horn") is a legendary animal possibly originally based on the rhinoceros.
Uranus is the Greek sky-god who was castrated by his son Cronus. In Genesis he is the "Firmament".
Urcaguary is the Incan god of buried treasure and wealth. He is very similar to Pluto.
Uriel is referred to as one of the five angels who lead the souls of men to judgement in the Sibylline Oracles.
Urquchillay is the Incan god of animals.
The Well of Uror is found beneath the root of the World Tree Yggdrasil in the land of the Aesir. The Norns tend this well.
Ushi-oni are Japanese minotaur-like creatures.
Valac is sixty second entry in the Ars Goetia. He is a Great President of Hell, having thirty legions of demons under his command. Valac is said to give true answers about hidden treasures; he reveals where serpents can be seen, and delivers them harmless to the magician. He is said to appear as a small poor boy with angel wings riding on a two-headed dragon.
Duke Valefar (or Malaphar, Malephar, Valafar, Valefor) is a Duke of Hell and the sixth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He tempts people to steal and is in charge of a good relationship among thieves. Valefar is considered a good familiar by his associates "till they are caught in the trap." He commands ten legions of demons. He is represented as a lion with the head of a man, or as a lion with the head of a donkey.
Valkyries are female Nordic battle spirits who are said to choose who gets killed in battle.
Vampires are a Slavic form of undead. In most cases, vampires are revenants of evil beings, suicide victims, or Slavic "witches", but they can also be created by a malevolent spirit possessing a corpse or by being bitten by a vampire. Vlad Dracul the Impaler of Romania is often said to be a vampire. He inspired the modern stories about Dracula. In legend he became a vampire in order to get the power to hold back the Ottoman Turks who had just taken Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul.
Vanaheim is the homeland of the Vanir.
Vanir are one of the two groups of gods in Germanic mythology associated with fertility, wisdom and the ability to see the future. It is possible their name came from the Vandals.
Vapula, the sixtieth entry in the Ars Goetia, is a powerful Great Duke of Hell that commands thirty-six legions of demons. He teaches Philosophy, Mechanics, and sciences. Vapula is depicted as a griffin-winged lion.
Varuna is the Vedic (Hindu) god of the ocean. He rides on a Makara.
Prince Vassago is the third Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is a mighty Prince of Hell, ruling over twenty-six legions of demons. He can be persuaded to tell the magician of events past and future, can discover hidden and lost things, and has a "good" nature.
Ve ("Shrine") is the youngest brother of Odin.
Vegvísir('sign post') is an Icelandic 'magical stave' intended to help the bearer find his/her way through rough weather. The symbol is attested in the Huld Manuscript, collected in Iceland by Geir Vigfusson in 1860
Veles is the Russian god of dragons, serpents, peasants, nomads and lowlands.
Venus is the Roman goddess of erotic love. The "female" symbol is a stylized version of her hand mirror.
Vepar is the forty second Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. She is a strong Great Duke of Hell, and rules twenty-nine legions of demons. She governs the waters and guides armoured ships laden with ammunition and weapons; she can also make, if requested, the sea rough and stormy, and to appear full of ships. Vepar can make men die in three days by putrefying sores and wounds, causing worms to breed in them, but if requested by the conjurer she can heal them immediately. Vepar is depicted as a mermaid.
Verethragna is a Sassanid god of victory. Possibly the First Horseman of the Apocalypse.
Veri Selen ("Fire Snake") is a Chuvash dragon.
The Very Black Witch was killed by King Arthur using his dagger.
Vili ("Will") is a Nordic god and brother of Odin.
Vine is an Earl and also a King of Hell, commanding 36 legions of demons. He is the forty fifth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He can tell present, past and future, discover witches and hidden things, create storms and make the water rough by means of them, and also bring down walls and build towers. This demon is portrayed as a lion holding a snake in his hand and riding a black horse.
Viracocha ("Sea Foam") is the Incan creator god.
Vishnu is a major Hindu god known as the Preserver. He is usually described as having dark complexion of water-filled clouds and as having four arms. He is a blue man, holding a padma (lotus flower) in the lower left hand, the Kaumodaki gada (mace) in the lower right hand, the Panchajanya shankha (conch) in the upper left hand and the discus weapon Sudarshana Chakra in the upper right hand. Adherents of Hinduism believe Vishnu's eternal and supreme abode beyond the material universe is called Vaikuntha, which is also known as Paramdhama, the realm of eternal bliss and happiness and the final or highest place for liberated souls who have attained Moksha. Vaikuntha is situated beyond the material universe and hence, cannot be perceived or measured by material science or logic. Vishnu's other abode within the material universe is Ksheera Sagara (the ocean of milk), where he reclines and rests on Ananta Shesha, (the king of the serpent deities, commonly shown with a thousand heads). In almost all Hindu denominations, Vishnu is either worshipped directly or in the form of his ten avatars, the most famous of whom are Rama and Krishna.
Vishvakarma is the Hindu god of craftsmanship.
Volkovoy are Slavic pagan priests and wonder workers.
The Völsunga saga is an important Nordic saga.
Volur ("Wand Carriers") are female Nordic shamanistic seers. Their supernatural methods are known as seiðr, spá and galdr. Freyja is their patron goddess.
Völuspá is the first poem in the Poetic Edda. In it a Volva instructs Odin about ancient lore. She says she remembers Jotunn born in antiquity who reared her. She then goes on to relate a creation myth and mentions Ymir; the world was empty until the sons of Burr lifted the earth out of the sea. The Æsir then established order in the cosmos by finding places for the sun, the moon and the stars, thereby starting the cycle of day and night. A golden age ensued where the Æsir had plenty of gold and happily constructed temples and made tools. But then three mighty Jotunn maidens came from Jötunheimr and the golden age came to an end. The Æsir then created the "dwarves" (dvergar?), of whom Mótsognir and Durinn are the mightiest. At this point ten of the poem's stanzas are over and six stanzas ensue which contain names of dwarves. This section, sometimes called "Dvergatal" ("Catalogue of Dwarves"), is usually considered an interpolation and sometimes omitted by editors and translators. After the "Dvergatal", the creation of the first man and woman are recounted and Yggdrasill, the world-tree, is described. The seer recalls the burning of Gullveig that led to the first "folk" war, and what occurred in the struggle between the Æsir and Vanir. She then recalls the time Freyja was given to the Jotunn. The seeress then reveals to Odin that she knows some of his own secrets, and that he sacrificed an eye in pursuit of knowledge. She tells him she knows where his eye is hidden and how he gave it up in exchange for knowledge. She asks him in several refrains if he understands, or if he would like to hear more. The seeress goes on to describe the slaying of Baldr, best and fairest of the gods and the enmity of Loki, and of others. Then she prophesies the destruction of the gods where fire and flood overwhelm heaven and earth as the gods fight their final battles with their enemies. This is the "fate of the gods" - Ragnarök. She describes the summons to battle, the deaths of many of the gods and how Odin, himself, is slain by Fenrir, the great wolf. Thor, the god of thunder and sworn protector of the earth, faces Jörmungandr, the world serpent, and wins but Thor is only able to take nine steps afterward before collapsing. Víðarr faces Fenrir and kicks his jaw open before stabbing the wolf in the heart with his spear. The god Freyr fights the Fire Jotunn Surtr, who wields a fiery sword that shines brighter than the sun, and Freyr falls. Finally a beautiful reborn world will rise from the ashes of death and destruction where Baldr and Höðr will live again in a new world where the earth sprouts abundance without sowing seed. The surviving Æsir reunite with Hœnir and meet together at the field of Iðavöllr, discussing Jörmungandr, great events of the past, and the runic alphabet. A final stanza describes the sudden appearance of Nidhogg the dragon, bearing corpses in his wings, before the seeress emerges from her trance.
Voudou is a Black African (i.e. Niger-Congo) religion. It is not the scary Bokor tradition which curses people and makes Zombies but Voudou usually gets blamed for what Bokors do. Voudou uses lots of gris-gris talismans.
Vritra is a Hindu dragon and Asura which is the personification of drought. It drank the river dry until Indra slew it with a thunderbolt.
Vual is the forty seventh Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a mighty Great Duke of Hell, commanding thirty-seven legions of demons. He gives the love of women, causes friendship between friends and foes, and tells things past, present and to come. Vual is depicted as a dromedary that after a while changes shape into a man, and speaks the Egyptian language, but not perfectly, with a deep voice.
Vulcan is the Roman name for the god the Greeks call Hephaestus.
Wadd ("Love and Friendship") is a Minaean moon god mentioned in Quran 71:23.
Wadj-wer is an Egyptian fertility water god.
Wands were used by Germanic people to carve runes into. Each wand acted like a sheet of paper.
Wanyūdō is, in Japanese mythology, said to take the form of a burning oxcart wheel bearing the tormented face of a man.
Warlock is a Germanic word which usually means "oath-breaker". Perhaps Warlocks and Orcs/Ogres are the same or at least related. However the word may also mean "spirit-singer". Scotland is said to have many Warlocks.
Watchers are a type of angel mention in the Books of Enoch and Daniel. In Daniel they are "Holy Ones", but in Enoch they are the fathers of the Nephilim.
Water Mama is an African water goddess.
Wayland is a legendary English smith.
Wendigo are man-beasts of indigenous Canadian mythology. They may be similar to Latin Ogres.
Werewolves are men who can change into wolves.
The White Wyvern is the symbol for the Anglo Saxons. It attacked Y Ddraig Goch and caused it to shriek in agony.
The Wind Eagle sits on top of Yggdrasil in Nordic legend. It seems to be similar to the Thunderbird and the Roc.
Wight is a Middle English word that means "person". There is no historical connection to the undead. The creatures known as "barrow-wights" in Tolkein's fiction were probably based on Draugs.
Witches are Germanic users of supernatural power. "Flying" was done by means of a drug filled ointment they applied before running naked (skyclad) to meetings which gave them a hallucination of flight. "Riding the broom" may refer to a sexual act used to achieve a mystical state of ecstacy.
Wizards are Germanic Wise Men. Their name does not refer to a particular type of mystical tradition or divination technique. However as Germanic mystics they are likely to be proficient with Rune Magic and familiar with Asatru.
Woad is a thick blue paint that Celtic warriors covered themselves with before battle. It may have served to seal wounds and prevent bleeding.
The Wolf is the symbol of the Mongols.
World Trees are very common symbols in legends around the world. A well known example is Yggdrasil of Norse myth.
Worm Hill in Britain is said to have a dragon living in caves beneath it.
Wraiths are Scottish spirits.
Wyrm is a Nordic name for a dragon.
Wyverns are dragonlike creatures with only two legs.
Xanthos is one of two immortal horses owned first by the hero Peleus and then by his son Achilles.
Xipe Totec ("The Flayed Lord") is a Mexican life-death-rebirth god.
Xochiquetzal is the Mexican goddess of hedonism and sex.
Xolotl is a Mexican god of lightning, destruction and death.
Xiuhtecuhtli is a Mexican fire god.
Y Ddraig Goch is the Red Dragon of Wales. It's pained shrieking was the Second Plague during the reign of King Ludd of Britain. The shriek ended pregnancies and had other effects. It was crying out because it was being attacked by the White Wyvern of England. The legendary solution was to get both dragons drunk on mead and then bury them in a stone coffin.
Yaghuth ("He Helps") is a Semitic god mentioned in Quran 71:23.
Yahoo is one way that YH is pronounced. However, it (or Yowie, or Wowie) is also the name of a manlike spirit from Australia which has long white hair hanging down from the head over the features ... the arms are extraordinarily long, furnished at the extremities with great talons, and the feet turned backwards, so that, on flying from man, the imprint of the foot appears as if the being had traveled in the opposite direction.
Yama is a Hindu and Buddhist god of the dead., Yama is the lokapala ("Guardian of the Directions") of the south. Three hymns (10, 14, and 35) in the 10th book of the Rig Veda are addressed to him. He has two dogs with four eyes and wide nostrils guarding the road to his abode. They are said to wander about among people as his messengers. Yama is depicted with blue skin and red clothes and rides a water buffalo. He holds a loop of rope in his left hand with which he pulls the soul from the corpse.
Yama-no-kami are Japanese earth spirits. The males are spirits of the mountains and the females are spirits of agriculture.
Yamata no Orochi was an eight headed serpent or dragon in Japanese legend. He was slain by the Shinto storm god Susanoo. First each head was given alcohol to incapacitate it.
Yasakani no Magatama is the Imperial Jewel of Japan; one of the three Imperial Japanese treasures. It represents the inherited strength and authority of the Japanese Emperor.
Yata no Kagami ("Eight-Handed Mirror") is one of the three Japanese Imperial Treasures. When the sun goddess, after a fight with the storm god, hid in a cave and refused to light the world, this mirror, which showed her how strong and glorious she was, helped persuade her to come out.
Yatudhanas are monstrous Hindu spirits which consume human flesh. Rakshasas are a type of Yatudhana.
Ya'uq is a Semitic god mentioned in Quran 71:23.
The Yellow Dragon is the symbol of the Chinese Emperor. It is the only Asian dragon with five toes on each foot.
Yeqon was the Watcher ringleader who first tempted the other Watchers into having sexual relations with humans. His accomplices were Asbeel, Gadreel, Penemue, and Kasdaye (or Kasadya), who were all identified as individual "satans".
Yetis are bestial ape-men of the Himalayas.
Yggdrasil is the Nordic World Tree.
YH (Yah) is said to be the name of God.
YHWH is the "tetragrammaton" - the four letters Moses saw.
Ymir is the Germanic personification of the glaciers that covered northern Europe during the last Ice Age.
Yog Sothoth in H.P. Lovecraft's fictional Egyptian deity whose name means "the Union of Set and Thoth".
Yokai are Japanese supernatural spirits.
Yuggoth is H.P. Lovecraft's fantasy name for the planetoid Pluto.
Yum-Kax is a Mayan maize god.
Yurai are Japanese ghosts.
Yurugu is a Dogon (West African) god.
Yuxa are a type of Tatar dragon.
Zagan, sixty first entry in the Ars Goetia, is a Great King and President of Hell, commanding over thirty-three legions of demons. He makes men witty and fools wise; he can also turn wine into water, water into wine, blood into oil, oil into blood, and blood into wine. Zagan can also shape metals into coins. Zagan is depicted as a griffin-winged bull that turns into a man after a while.
Zahhak is an evil Persian dragon-god.
Zaqîêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Zealots were a tribe of Jewish fanatics that committed suicide at the Masada fortress rather than be enslaved to Rome.
Zepar is the sixteenth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. he is a Great Duke of Hell who commands 26 legions of inferior spirits. His office is to cause women to love men, and bring them together in love. He makes women barren. He is depicted with red clothes and armor, like a soldier.
Zephyrus is the Greek god of the west wind.
Zhulong, or 'torch dragon', is a Chinese solar dragon deity. It has a human's face and snake's body, creates day and night by opening and closing its eyes, and creates seasonal winds by breathing.
Ziz is a giant bird in Jewish legend - the archetype of creatures of the air.
Zohar is a book or tradition of Jewish Theurgy, related to Kabbalah.
Zombies are living people who have been modified by a Bokor. Datura is given to suppress the spirit (personality) while the body and soul are still present. The spirit is still active enough to animate the body but has had free will suppressed with the Datura and brainwashing. The body is also suppressed through the use of puffer-fish nerve poison. This causes the rotting flesh and awkward gait. Zombies do not need or want brainz they need a doctor and want whatever the Bokor tells them they want. Don't blow them into bits with shotguns if at all possible because they're not dead, or undead. The original person is still inside there...Sometimes mentally ill people are chosen for zombification because their illness makes the process easier.
Zophasemin ("Watchers of Heaven") are egg-like divine entities mentioned by Philo of Byblos.
3/26/11
I've always been very harsh about religion. I grew up an angry atheist because of the willful stupidity and contempt for others I saw in the openly religious individuals in the media and in person. I also saw the intimate connection between culture and religion early on which clashed with religions' claims to be universal. My views on religion were and are in a sense Lovecraftian, as is clearly seen in my choice of handle (online name). Lovecraft, in his stories, described a twisted fertility god - Shub-Niggurath, the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young, and I have taken it's title as my name. This has to to with my sadness and anger about the existence of the vast masses of impoverished people who live "the crazy life", breeding and breeding, and the children growing up in poverty and misery, turning into vast hordes of monstrous people...
However as I've matured I've seen religion in a new light. I have been thinking about the people behind the images; what was it about Jesus, and Muhammed, and Siddhartha, etc. that made people idealize them so? I, like all people, have an innate sense of good and evil, right and wrong, justice and injustice. There are feelings and states of mind that are virtuous, and some that are sinful, or whatever you want to call the concepts.
I think religion is a particular culture's attempt to comprehend the universal truths of spirituality, the sense of self which I am beginning to think of as the soul, and the like. These things are real. The specific imagery used by the very first authors in a particular place thousands of years ago I still interpret critically. However I am thinking about this. Maybe it's because I'm starting to think about settling down.
What is it like when we break on through to the other side?
6/1/10
"...healers, or ritual specialists, deliberately force themselves into a trance in which they believe they travel to the spirit world. The visions they experience on these journeys of the mind are terrifying and complex, and the activity itself is undertaken for the good of the community. The Kalahari Bushmen go to the spirit world to entreat with their god for the lives of the sick, to make rain, and to control the movements of the game animals.
In the lightest stages of trance states, all humans have the capacity to see geometric shapes known as form constants. They are hard-wired in the brain. As the trance deepens, and the subject tries to make sense of the shapes, so they change into things which are governed by that person's particular culture. The geometries are found all over the world and throughout history. Coupled to this are experiences such as changing into animals: the rock art traditions of hunter-gatherers the world over — including Ice Age Europe — contain images of figures which are half human and half animal . Going into deep caves is likened to going into a deep trance. Some images in France and Spain are over 1 km into the caves. Native Americans would call this 'Vision Questing' — going to barely accessible places such as mountain tops to perform rock art making, the images likely derived from visions they had experienced at special ceremonies."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushmen
5/25/10
"After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, the cult of death diminished but was never eradicated. John Thompson of the University of Arizona's Southwest Center has found references dating to 18th century Mexico. According to one account, indigenous people tied up a skeletal figure and threatened it with lashings if it did not perform miracles or grant their wishes."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Muerte
5/16/10
There's a new spirit in my room. It is bigger than the laundry demon; it fills the whole room, and it is strong, but diffuse. I await it's coming with bright anticipation. It is tied to the clock and amphatamines through the power of the sun!
I can rise with the sun, Apollo
If I lay down at night, Apollo
Apollo's name means the Destroyer. I don't know why but it fits in with the fact that the indiginous people know the Sun as a war god - Huitzilopochtli.
Apollo is not the diffuse spirit in my room, however. That spirit, though strong, is much less than the sun. It only hopes to channel a tiny fraction of the sun's power.
5/3/10
Celts had a reputation as head hunters. According to Paul Jacobsthal, "Amongst the Celts the human head was venerated above all else, since the head was to the Celt the soul, centre of the emotions as well as of life itself, a symbol of divinity and of the powers of the other-world."[62] Arguments for a Celtic cult of the severed head include the many sculptured representations of severed heads in La Tène carvings, and the surviving Celtic mythology, which is full of stories of the severed heads of heroes and the saints who carry their decapitated heads, right down to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where the Green Knight picks up his own severed head after Gawain has struck it off, just as St. Denis carried his head to the top of Montmartre.
A further example of this regeneration after beheading lies in the tales of Connemara's St. Feichin, who after being beheaded by Viking pirates carried his head to the Holy Well on Omey Island and on dipping the head into the well placed it back upon his neck and was restored to full health.
Diodorus Siculus, in his 1st century History had this to say about Celtic head-hunting:
They cut off the heads of enemies slain in battle and attach them to the necks of their horses. The blood-stained spoils they hand over to their attendants and striking up a paean and singing a song of victory; and they nail up these first fruits upon their houses, just as do those who lay low wild animals in certain kinds of hunting. They embalm in cedar oil the heads of the most distinguished enemies, and preserve them carefully in a chest, and display them with pride to strangers, saying that for this head one of their ancestors, or his father, or the man himself, refused the offer of a large sum of money. They say that some of them boast that they refused the weight of the head in gold
In Gods and Fighting Men, Lady Gregory's Celtic Revival translation of Irish mythology, heads of men killed in battle are described in the beginning of the story The Fight With The Fir Bolgs as pleasing to Macha, one aspect of the war goddess Morrigu.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celts
4/26/10
Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. - Proverb
The business week begins Monday. Monday begins at about 8 pm Sunday and ends 8 pm Monday. Shifting time in this manner summons health and wealth. Wisdom I am uncertain about.
The first task of the business day is to get a good night's sleep. In order to do that no caffeine should be ingested. Then sleep from ~10 pm until ~6 am. Witnessing dawn is good luck. Witnessing midnight is bad luck. 6-7 get up, assume professional state, begin business...
Shifting time consciously in this manner can be very difficult for those weak of will!
I have just glimpsed Antelope. I have complex relations with Eagle. Long ago I saw Panther but she was indifferent. And of course, Cat has been my friend, my sibling, my child since as far back as I can remember.
The Tongva use some sort of bean filled gourd as a rattle. They wear shell necklaces. Sage and Tobacco are sacred plants. Walnut is the staple food. They navigate the sea in boats. Their indiginous religion seems to be monotheistic.
4/19/10
I know spells the change money into inner peace via a ward against malignancy, but they are difficult. My ability to use these spells is very inefficient currently. I need to refine it until the power of my spells is greater than the malignant powers at all times.
Original Post -
Chaos magic, the magic of the nonmagical, the supernatural power and religion of the atheist. It is the sorcery of doublethink, mystical control of minds and emotions, turning fists to stone, divinations, wards against and perception of malignant spirits.
There is one such spirit that haunts my room. He's a fat little red devil; kind of like Jabba the hut, but he has chubby little baby legs. He's a demon of disorder and laziness, and is burned by housecleaning. He likes to sit on my laundry and smirk, drool dripping from his lips onto my used socks.
Sage is a powerful ward against malignant powers. I have some but the time is not right. The ritual must be greater than the sage alone.
Mercury, master of magic, money and medicine, Hermes Trismegistus, who stepped from Italy to Spain to Latin America as part of the Latin culture (but always hidden, because YHWH is a jealous god), is a god I visualize and meditate to.
(inhaling) I can get work, Mercury
(exhaling) if I work at it, Mercury
Fluorite is a stone that brings focus and concentration.
The Bear, the Tiger, the Lion are known to me.
EDIT 3/29/10
432 is a powerful number:
432 sum of four consecutive primes (103 + 107 + 109 + 113), a highly totient number, sum of totient function for first 37 integers and a Harshad number. 42 x 33= 33 x 24 =432. 432 is also three-dozen sets of a dozen, making it three gross.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/432_(number)#430s
Music & 432
* 432 times 432 = 186624 the classic speed of light is 186400 miles/second, a difference of .001201.
* E=mc2 ---Einstein's famous equation of energy and matter - - where E= energy, m = matter, and c = the universal constant speed of light.
The speed of light in 1983 was generally accepted to be 186,291 miles per second in a vacuum so 432 as the square root of the speed of light should only experience the usual suspects as skeptics. This number converted by the pyramid inch is 186,496. ( 186,291 [accepted speed of light in a vacuum per 1983 agreement] x 1.0011)
A line showing the speed of light on a scale model of Earth and the Moon, about 1.2 seconds.
The distance from the center of the earth to the average height of the atmosphere. This value is given as 4320 arc-minutes, which harmonically can be reduce down to 432 the fundamental vibration for the sixth node in the octave
A line showing the speed of light on a scale model of Earth and the Moon, about 1.2 seconds.
The archaic Egyptian instruments that have been unearthed, so far, are largely tuned to 432 hz. In ancient Greece (the school book original place for music) their instruments were predominantly tuned at 432 hz. Within the archaic Greek Eleusenian Mysteries, Orpheus is the god of music, death and rebirth, and was the keeper of the Ambrosia and the music of transformation (his instruments were tuned at 432 hz).
zeeblebot
http://www.playtheimmortalgame.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=128142
See also
http://www.carnaval.com/music432/
4/27/15
I was offered a fantastic job on Christmas Eve by a man who mentioned God.
12/1/14
I'm having a bad day and getting scared and anxious. Mild anxiety attack over ANOTHER stupid, avoidable problem situation. Nothing to say to anyone in the sense of asking for counsel. They'd either tell me to stop whining and take whatever problems occur like a man, stoically...and to stop being stupid. And they'd be right.
So I walked to the Church. I found an open door and went in and sat down and I cried a little bit. Then I left.
10/28/14
I've been wanting to go to Church lately. I've never gone except for the occasional funeral or baptism.
11/9/13
SCHOOLS OF MYSTICAL POWER
Alchemy - this is the Western tradition which originated in Hellenistic Egypt with Mary the Jewess sometime between 100-300 CE. Similar traditions existed in China and India. Distillation was one of the earliest techniques known. Heating substances and collecting vapors was another. Potions were sometimes made using urine as a solvent.
Alchemical formula - creation of flammable liquids.
Alchemical formula - creation of caustic acids and bases.
Alchemical formula - creation/detection/neutralization of poisons.
Alchemical formula - scrolls and books.
Alchemical formula - creation of intoxicants.
Alchemical formula - gunpowder (Chinese).
Alchemical legendary formula - Philosopher's Stone, turns lead to gold
Alchemy Legend - Hercules' wife Deineira gets a "love potion" from a sorceress and gives it to him, poisoning him.
Automation - The manufacture and use of complex mechanical devices. Also known as Mathematics.
Automation formula - Brazen head
Automation formula - Brazen Bull - fiery device of horrible execution.
Automation formula - pre-programmed motions of statues
Automation formula - traps
Automation legend - Talos, animated bronze statue who guarded the harbor of Crete
Automation legend - Colchian Bulls, fire breathing animated robot bulls
Druidism - Traditional Celtic religion and wonder working.
Druid formula - Call down fire
Druid formula - Sacrifice wicker man
Druid formula - shapeshift to animal
Druid formula - invisibility
Druid formula - conjure darkness
Druid formula - cause sleep (Lludd and Llefelys, the Third Plague)
Druid formula - survive beheading (various legends including Green Knight)
Magic - Persian mysticism based on stargazing.
Magic formula - read stars for divination purposes.
Magic formula - flight (Simon Magus)
Shamanism - North Asian spirit magic. Also found in North America. Possibly the same as south African Khoisan religious tradition.
Shaman Formula - Go into trance (Khoisan) - this implies a sharp conceptual distinction between the material world and the "spirit world". The trance allows the shaman to interact with spirits which themselves have powers, and thus indirectly cause magical results. Unfortunately the shaman is physically unconscious or otherwise "blind" to the material world during this time.
Shaman Formula - Discover your Fetch (allied animal spirit)
Shaman Formula - Cure illnesses via spirits
Shaman Formula - Control the movements of game animals (possibly other animals as well) via spirits
Shaman Formula - Change the weather via spirits
Some FACTS.
Marquis Aamon is a Marquis of Hell who governs forty infernal legions and the seventh Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He appears as a wolf with a serpent's tail who can breathe fire, or as a man with a raven's head, sometimes depicted with canine teeth. He tells of all things past and future. He procures feuds, and reconciles controversies between friends and foes.
Aaru, 'the reed fields' is the Egyptian paradise afterlife for those dead people whose souls are not weighed down by sin.
Abbadon is an angel of destruction. Vladamir Putin, President of Russia, was given this name when he joined the Russian 1%er gang Night Wolves. May be related to Apollo.
Abjuration is a formal renunciation.
Abracadabra ('I create as I speak') is an originally Aramaic sorcery incantation. The first known use of it was in 208 CE by Quintus Serenus Sammonicus, physician to Roman Emperor Severus, who used it to cure a fever. It is also said to ward off the plague.
Abraham was a man from Ur, in Sumeria (Iraq), whose religious and cultural tradition evolved into Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This is why they are called the Abrahamic religions. 2500 BCE
Abraxus is the name of the supreme god of the Basilidian sect of Gnostics. He is said to rule over 365 lesser gods; one for each day of the year. He is said to have serpents for feet and the head of a cockerel.
Abzu is the primal Babylonian god of fresh water. He mixed with Tiamat (probably in the Persian Gulf/Eden) to produce younger gods.
Acala (Sanskrit: "immovable") is a dharmapala primarily revered in Vajrayana Buddhism, particularly in Tangmi in Japan, China and elsewhere. He is classed among the Wisdom Kings and preeminent among the Five Wisdom Kings of the Womb Realm. Accordingly, his figure occupies an important hierarchical position in the pictorial diagramatic Mandala of the Two Realms. In Japan, Acala is revered in the Shingon Buddhism, Tendai, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism and in Shugendō. Acala is sometimes said to be a patron to the Shinobi and to have inspired their choice of swords.Descriptions of his physical appearance derive from such scriptural source as the Mahavairocana Tantra (大日経 Dainichikyō?) and its annotation. His face is expressive of extreme wrath, wrinkle-browed, left eye squinted or looking askance, lower teeth biting down the upper lip. He has the physique of a corpulent (round-bellied) child. He bears a straight sword in his right hand, and a lariat[3] or noose in his left hand. He is engulfed in flame, and seated on a huge rock base. Acala is said to be a powerful deity who protects all the by burning away all impediments antarāya (障難 shōnan?) and defilements, thus aiding them towards enlightenment. In Japanese esoteric Buddhism, according to an arcane interpretive concept known as the three cakra bodies (三輪身 san rinjin?)[1] Acala and the rest of the five wisdom kings are considered embodiments of the wheel of injunction (教令輪身 kyōryō tenshin?),[1] or beings whose actions constitute the teaching of the law (the other embodiments teach by word, or merely by their manifest existence). Under this conceptualization, the wisdom kings are ranked superior to the dharmapala (護法善神 gohō zenshin?), a different class of guardian deities. Nevertheless, this distinction sometimes fails to be asserted, or the two are openly treated as synonymous by many commentators, even in clearly Japanese religious contexts. The Sanskrit symbol that represents Acala is hāṃ हां, conventionally transliterated kān (カーン?). However, it has been confounded with the similar glyph (हूं hūṃ), prompting some commentators to mistakenly identify Acala with other deities. (The Sanskrit symbol is called a siddham (梵字?, bonji) or a bīja (種子 shuji?). Some of the other transliterations and variants to his name are Ācalanātha, Āryācalanātha, and Ācalavidyārāja. The Hindu form of the deity may also be known as Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa or Caṇḍaroṣaṇa "the violent-wrathful" one.
Acan is the Mayan god of alcohol.
Acheron is the cthonic river of pain in Greek myth. It is one of the five underground mythical rivers in the legends of Greece.
The Book of Acts is part of the Christian Bible which describes the life of Paul and how he organized the spread of the early Christian churches.
Adam was the first village in Western Civilization. It was located in Iraq or where the Persian Gulf is today. It is personified as the "first [civilized?] man" in Genesis.
Aenbharr was Lugh's magic horse that could walk on water.
Aeromancy in Latin means studying the clouds for mystical information. No flying or smiting with lightning bolts involved. In fact the common fantasy trope of the "magic-user" hurling lightning bolts is not based in historical legend at all. This is one of the Seven Forbidden Arts in the Rennaissance.
The Aegis is a legendary Greek shield owned by Athena. It is a fearsome thing with a surface of gold like scaly snake-skin, furnished with snake like golden tassels, and the Gorgoneion (Medusa's head) in the central boss - "a severed head rolling its eyes."
Aegishjalmarr is Odin's "Helm of Awe".
Aesir are one of the two groups of Germanic gods, associated with power, war and the mind. They are likely the same beings as the Hindu Asura.
Duke Agares is the second Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He rules the eastern zone of Hell, and is served by 31 legions of demons. He can make runaways come back and those who run stand still, finding pleasure in teaching immoral expressions. He also has the power to destroy dignities, both temporal and supernatural. He is depicted as a pale old man riding a crocodile.
Agni is the Hindu god of fire. The fictional character Dhalsim in the Street Fighter games worships Agni.
Ahriman is the "destructive spirit" in Zoroastrianism.
Aim (aka Aym or Haborym) is a Great Duke of Hell, very strong, and rules over twenty-six legions of demons. He is the twenty third Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He sets cities, castles and great places on fire, makes men witty in all ways, and gives true answers concerning private matters. He is depicted as a man (handsome to some sources), but with three heads, one of a serpent, the second of a man, and the third of a cat to most authors, although some say of a calf, riding a viper, and carrying in his hand a lit firebrand with which he sets the requested things on fire.
Ajdaha is a Persian dragon.
Akaname ("Filth-Licker") is a small red Japanese creature that lives in dirty bathrooms.
An Ala (plural: ale or hali) is a female mythological creature recorded in the folklore of Bulgarians, Macedonians, and Serbs. Ale are considered demons of bad weather whose main purpose is to lead hail-producing thunderclouds in the direction of fields, vineyards, or orchards to destroy the crops, or loot and take them away. Extremely voracious, ale particularly like to eat children, though their gluttony is not limited to Earth. It is believed they sometimes try devouring the Sun or the Moon, causing eclipses, and that it would mean the end of the world should they succeed. When people encounter an ala, their mental or physical health, or even life, are in peril; however, her favor can be gained by approaching her with respect and trust. Being in a good relationship with an ala is very beneficial, because she makes her favorites rich and saves their lives in times of trouble. The appearance of an ala is diversely and often vaguely described in folklore. A given ala may look like a black wind, a gigantic creature of indistinct form, a huge-mouthed, humanlike, or snakelike monster, a female dragon, or a raven. An ala may also assume various human or animal shapes, and can even possess a person's body.
Alchemy is named by Arabs and Greeks though the tradition began in Egypt. This is primitive chemistry. Similar traditions rose independently in India and China. I speculate that alchemical methods were used by Druids and Thamaturgists when they called down fire on their enemies.
Alfar is a name for the Elves. Frey is their god.
Alfheim is the land of the Elves. The province named Alfheim in Sweden may or may not be the same place.
Allocer, the fifty second entry in the Ars Goetia, is a demon whose title is Great Duke of Hell, and who has thirty-six legions of demons under his command. He induces people to immorality and teaches arts and all mysteries of the sky. He appears in the shape of a knight mounted on an enormous horse. His face has leonine characteristics; he has a ruddy complexion and burning eyes; and he speaks with much gravity. He is said to provide good familiars, and to teach astronomy and liberal arts. Allocer is often depicted riding a horse with dragon legs.
Almace was Bishop Turpin's sword.
Amaguk is an Inuit wolf god.
Ama no Zako (天逆毎, "heaven opposing everything", or 天狗神, "tengu deity") is a monstrous goddess mentioned in the Kujiki, an ancient Japanese text, which states that she originated when Susanoo let his own ferocious spirit build up inside him until he vomited her out. This deity has a furious temper, a beastly head with a long nose, long ears, and great fangs so strong they can chew metal blades ragged, and to be capable of flying for a thousand ri.
Ama no Uzume is the Japanese Kami of amusement.
Amasagnul is the Assyrian goddess who is consort to Papsukkal.
Amaterasu ("Shining in Heaven") is the Japanese sun goddess. The Japanese Emperor is said to be her direct descendant.
Amaymon is a Prince of Hell. He is said to be the only one who has power over Asmodai. A curious characteristic of this Spirit is shown during the Evocation of Asmodai to visible appearance, when the Exorcist must stand upright with his Cap or Headdress removed in a show of respect; for if he does not it is Amaymon who will deceive him and doom all his work. Amaymon is said to have a deadly poisonous breath. To evoke Amaymon the Exorcist or Conjurer must be in possession of a Silver Ring, duly consecrated and worn on the middle finger as a form of protection against his poisonous astral breath. Possibly King of the West, or of the East, or neither. He is one of the eight Sub-Princes, described as an Egyptian devil whom Abramelin restrained from working evil from the third hour till noon and from the ninth till evening.
Amber was thought the be the tears of the Heliads or Freya in Greek or Germanic mythology respectively. It was also said to be the solidified urine of the Lynx or petrified sperm from seals or dolphins. Because it is easily negatively charged by rubbing, amber was also associated with electricity.
Amdusias, sixty seventh Demon in the Ars Goetia, has 29 legions of demons and spirits under his command and has the rank of Great King. He is depicted as a human with claws instead of hands and feet, the head of a unicorn, and a trumpet to symbolize his powerful voice. Amdusias is associated with thunder and it has been said that his voice is heard during storms. In other sources, he is accompanied by the sound of trumpets when he comes and will give concerts if commanded, but while all his types of musical instruments can be heard they cannot be seen. He is regarded as being the demon in charge of the cacophonous music that is played in Hell. He can make trees bend at will.
Amelouith was a water demon who claimed to have empowered Egypt's 'magicians' to work their wonders. Solomon enslaved him with Michael's Ring.
Ame no Tachikaroo is the Japanese Kami of brute strength.
Amma is the sky god of the Dogon people in West Africa.
Ammit is an Egyptian dragon goddess that devours those whose hearts are weighed down by sin after death.
Amon-Ra was the Egyptian name for the monotheistic God.
Amulets are a type of protective magical device.
Amy is the fifty eighth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is a great president, and appears in a flame of fire, but having taken man's shape, he makes one marvelous in astrology, and in all the liberal sciences, he procures excellent familiars, he bewraieth [?] treasures preserved by spirits, he has the government of thirty six legions, he is partly of the order of angels, partly of potestats [?], he hopes after a thousand two hundred years to return to the seventh throne: which is not credible.
Ananta Sheshna is the Vedic thousand headed king of serpents. Vishnu sits on him.
An Anachitis ("Stone of Necessity") is a stone used by Magi to call up spirits of the water (undines?).
The Anakim were a race of people who were so strong looking they struck terror into the hearts of the Israelites. The Philistines were said to descend from them.
Anânêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
'Anat is a northwest Semitic virgin war goddess.
Andras is a Grand Marquis of Hell, having under his command thirty legions of demons. He is the sixty third Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He sows discord among people. Andras appears with a winged angel's body and the head of an owl or raven, riding upon a strong black wolf and wielding a sharp and bright saber. Andras was considered to be a highly dangerous demon, who could kill the conjuring magician and his assistants if precautions were not taken. A misstep outside the magical protective circle could mean instant death for the conjurer(s), and Andras was always trying to lure them out. He teaches those whom he favors to kill their enemies, masters and servants.
Andrealphus, the sixty fifth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia, is a great Marquis with the appearance of a Peacock who raises great noises and teaches cunning in astronomy, and when in human form also teaches geometry in a perfect manner. He is also described as ruling over thirty legions and as having the ability to turn any man into a bird. He can make men subtle in all things pertaining to Mensuration, among other things.
Andromalius ("Man of Evil") is the seventy second and last entry in the Ars Goetia. He is a mighty Great Earl of Hell, having thirty-six legions of demons at his service. He can bring back both a thief and the stolen goods, punishes all thieves and other wicked people, and discovers hidden treasures, all evilness, and all dishonest dealing. Andromalius is depicted as a man holding a big serpent in his hand.
Andvaranaut is a cursed ring in Nordic mythology. It makes gold, but it brings ruin to the owner. This ring may have caused Fafnir's transformation into a dragon.
Angelica is a powerful herb known to Wizardry.
Angels are messengers for God.
Angel-like Demons are Jewish religious demons who follow Jewish religion and sometimes work with humans via Kabbalah. Their King is Asmodeus, the King of Lust. They can be commanded with Michael's Ring.
Anima is the Greek word for the spirit of life which animates living things.
Animism is the religious belief that all things have spirits. It is often said to be the ancestor of polytheism.
The Ankh, a cross with a loop for a top, is the Key to the Land of the Dead in Egyptian mythology. It may represent a hand mirror.
Antaeus (Ἀνταῖος) was a Libyan god, son of Poseidon and Gaia, who wrestled all visitors to the death until he was slain by Heracles, who defeated Antaeus by lifting him off the ground.
Anu is the Sumerian name for the Father in Heaven.
Anubis is an Egyptian god associated with the Egyptian Jackal (wolf subspecies). He is the son of Set and Nephthys. When Socrates swore oaths "by the Dog" this is who he meant.
Ao is a large marine turtle in Chinese mythology. He was thought to have lived in the South China Sea during the time of the formation of the world. When the goddess Nüwa, creator of mankind, was repairing the sky after a disaster, she chopped off Ao’s four legs and used them as supports. It is said that Ao still lives and resides in the Bohai Sea, where he carries the three islands of the Eight Immortals (Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou) upon his back.
Apep is a giant cosmic dragon in Egyptian mythology whose attempts to devour the sun are the cause of solar eclipses.
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of erotic love. The month of April may have been named after her.
Apollo, the Destroyer, is the Greek name for the god of sunlight. Sunlight burns and causes cancer, so Apollo is named for the Greek word for destruction, apollyon.
Apollonius of Tyana was a famous sorcerer who lived between 40 CE and 120 CE in the Greek region of the world.
Apotropaic spells are those which ward away danger.
Aradia is a book about Italian sorcery.
Arâkîba is listed in the Book of Enoch as one of the leaders of the Watchers.
Araqiel is according to the book of Enoch one of the leaders of the 200 fallen angels who commenced in unnatural union with human women, and who taught forbidden knowledge; specifically, Araqiel taught humans "the signs of the Earth". In the Sibylline Oracles Araqiel is referred to as one of the five angels who lead the souls of men to judgement, the other four being Ramiel, Uriel, Samiel, and Azazel.
The Areadbhar is a spear owned by Lugh which was given to him by the King of Persia. This spear had a flaming head which had to be kept immersed in water when not in use.
Ares is the Greek name for the personification of war. Sparta gloried in his power, as Rome did that of Mars. However Sparta kept the statue of Ares chained up in a dungeon, showing that they understood that war needs to be kept under strict control even by warriors. The Romans forgot that lesson but Jesus reminded them.
Arges is the name of a Greek cyclops.
Arianrhod ("Silver Wheel") is the British goddess of the dawn and the northern circumpolar stars.
Armaros is a Watcher who taught men the resolving of enchantments (Enoch I).
Artaius is a Gaulish bear god.
Artemis is the Greek name for the virgin Huntress goddess of the moonlight. She is Apollo's twin sister and is known for her silvery arrows. Paul ran afoul of her cult in Ephesus as can be read in the Book of Acts. Paul's letter to Timothy, often quoted for it's instructions not to let women teach, should always be read with the understanding that Timothy's church was in a town dominated by the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Romans knew her as Diana.
Aruru is the goddess who created Enkidu from clay in Sumerian legend.
Asâêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Asatru is Nordic paganism.
Asgard is the realm in which the Aesir live.
Asmodeus/Asmodai is the half human Demon King of Lust (Book of Tobit, Kabbalah) and the thirty second Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. King Solomon tricked him into helping build the Temple. It is said he is the King of the Angel-like Demons of Kabbalah. He is said to have a seal in gold and is strong, powerful and appears with three heads; the first is like a bull, the second like a man, and the third like a ram; the tail of a serpent, and from his mouth issue flames of fire. He sits upon an infernal dragon, holds a lance with a banner and governs seventy two legions of inferior spirits.
An Aspergillum is a holy water sprinkler.
Assassin was a disrespectful name used to refer to an order of Shi-ite elite warriors and killers. When they killed a Mongol Khan, the Mongols eradicated the Assassins and razed their fortresses.
Astaroth is a Duke of Hell and the twenty ninth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is depicted as a nude man with feathered wings, wearing a crown, holding a serpent in one hand, and riding a beast with dragon-like wings and a serpent-like tail. He is a demon of the First Hierarchy, who seduces by means of laziness, vanity, and rationalized philosophies. His adversary is St. Bartholomew, who can protect against him for he has resisted Astaroth's temptations. To others, he teaches mathematical sciences and handicrafts, can make men invisible and lead them to hidden treasures, and answers every question formulated to him. He was also said to give to mortal beings the power over serpents. His name is possibly related to that of the goddess Astarte.
Astarte is the Greek name for Ishtar.
The Astral Plane is the name for a sort of spirit realm.
Astral Projection is a method of travelling spiritually out of one's material body.
Astrology is similar to Persian Magic. It is the mystical study of the stars.
Asuras are Hindu gods. They are probably the same as the Nordic Aesir.
Atargatis is an Assyrian mermaid goddess.
An Athame is a Witch's ritual dagger.
Attar is a Canaanite god and the personifiication of the "morning star" (the planet Venus seen from Earth in the morning). His story is related to that told in Isaiah 14:12, in some translations of which he is called Lucifer, "the shining one". He tries to usurp the throne of Baal Hadad but fails to rule.
Athena is the Greek virgin goddess of olives, owls, wisdom and strategy.
Augury is the Roman technique of watching birds for omens.
Aum Shinrikyu is a Japanese cult that released Sarin nerve gas in the subways of Japan. It was known for exceptional displays of happiness, claims of levitation and the color blue.
Auðumbla is the Nordic divine cow that licked Buri free of primordial ice.
Auras are mystical or spiritual radiation that reflect the nature of the person, place or object that the aura emanates from.
In Greek mythology, the Aurai are the winged nymphs of the breezes, daughters of Boreas, the god of the north wind, Eurus, the god of the east wind, Zephyrus, the god of the west wind, or Notus, the god of the south wind. Most have dragonfly wings, and the traditional elf-like ears of Nymphs.
Avebury is a mystical stone circle in Britain.
Az is a demon of greed.
Azazel is a word that means, or the personification of, "absolute removal". He accepts sacrifices that God does not want (Leviticus 16). It is said that he taught men to make knives, swords, shields, and how to devise ornaments and cosmetics. In the Sibylline Oracles Azazel is referred to as one of the five angels who lead the souls of men to judgement.
Baal (or Bel, "Lord") is a title of Semitic deities. A Baal was worshipped in Ekron, a Philistine city.
Baba Yaga is a Slavic witch-goddess. She flies about in an herbalist's mortar, steering with the pestle, and lives in a hut that has chicken legs (probably inspired by Slavic granaries build over two trees). Her yard is fenced in with human bones.
Bacchus is a Roman god of wine and intoxication. He is the Roman version of Dionysus.
Badb is a Celtic "war crow" goddess.
King Bael is the first of the Demons listed in the Ars Goetica. Bael is the head of the infernal powers and first king of Hell with estates in the east. He has three heads: a toad, a man, and a cat. He also speaks in a raucous, but well formed voice, and commands 66 legions. Bael teaches the art of invisibility.
Bahamut is an inconceivably enormous fish that holds up the world in Arabic folklore.
Balaam was a diviner whose story is told in the book of Numbers.
A Balaur ("Beast") is a type of Romanian dragon. Generally it has fins and feet and is often multi headed. Its saliva is said to form precious stones.
Balam (also Balaam, Balan) is the fifty first Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a great and powerful king of Hell who commands over forty legions of demons. He gives perfect answers on things past, present, and to come, and can also make men invisible and witty. Balam is depicted as being three-headed. One head is the head of a bull, the second of a man, and the third of a ram. He has flaming eyes and the tail of a serpent. He carries a hawk on his fist and rides a strong bear while naked. His name seems to have been taken from Balaam, the Biblical diviner.
Baldr is a Nordic god and the son of Frigg. He is the god of light. His mother Frigg made everything in the world except mistletoe swear never to harm Baldr.
Balmung (or Nothung) is a Nordic legendary sword. Siegfried chose it to replace his sword Gram.
Banshees are mystical keeners in Gaelic legend. Keeners are women who scream to mourn the dead. Banshees, or Bean-Sidhe (literally woman-spirit) are ghostly keeners who scream over deaths that have not yet happened. This legend may be related to the fact that keeners were often the first ones to know that someone died and would cry out before anyone else knew.
Baphomet is how a Crusader named Anselm of Ribemont wrote the name "Muhammed" which he heard Muslims refer to when they were worshipping. It has also been said that this name comes from the Greek "Baphe Metis" which means "bathed in wisdom" but this is likely a false etymology (though Muhammed was probably a very wise man). Baphomet was a powerful symbol of non-Christianity in the eyes of medieval Christians. The Knights Templar were disbanded and their Grand Master burned at the stake because of alleged Baphomet worship.
The Baptist Church is a Protestant church that during the First Great Awakening tended to have a "New White" congregation.
Baraqiel (Aramaic: ברקאל, Greek: Βαρακιήλ, "Lighting of God") is the 9th Watcher of the 20 leaders of the 200 fallen angels that are mentioned in the Book of Enoch. It has been said that Baraqiel taught men astrology during the days of Jared/Yered.
Duke Barbatos is an Earl and Duke of Hell and the eighth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He rules thirty legions of demons and has four kings as his companions to command his legions. He gives the understanding of the voices of the animals, says past and future, conciliates friends and rulers, and he can lead men to hidden treasures that have been hidden by the enchantment of magicians. His name seems to derive from Latin 'barbatus', bearded, old man, philosopher
President Barbas (or Marbas) is the fifth demon described in the Ars Goetia. He is described as the Great President of Hell governing thirty-six legions of demons. He answers truly on hidden or secret things, causes and heals diseases, teaches mechanical arts, and changes men into other shapes. He is depicted as a great lion that, under the conjurer's request, changes shape into a man.
Bards are Celtic users of poetry and song. Skalds are the Nordic equivalent. There is enormous supernatural power in witty ridicule, glorification, historical instruction through stories, and the like. Court Jesters or Fools probably evolved from the Bardic tradition as Celts became the Third Estate of peasants in the medieval social structure.
Barghests are north English spirit dogs with black fur and large claws and teeth. They were often said to be able to shapeshift.
The Basilisk is a serpent so deadly either its venom or its gaze would kill. The weasel is its natural enemy. The head of the Basilisk has a crest or "crown" and it leaves a trail of venom behind it as it slithers along. Basilisks are hatched by roosters from the eggs of serpents or toads.
Bast is the Egyptian cat goddess.
Batârêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Bathin is the eighteenth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a Great Duke of Hell, who has under his command thirty legions of demons. He knows the virtues of precious stones and herbs, and can bring men suddenly from one country to another. He helps one attain astral projection, and takes you wherever you want to go. He is depicted as a strong man with the tail of a serpent, riding a pale horse.
Lady Bathory was known as the witch of Cachtice. She lived sometime in the early 1600’s and was the most notorious witch of Eastern Europe, probably that of the world. There existed an infamous trial against her; she, along with a couple of her maids, was accused of torturing and murdering young Slovak girls. According to the witnesses, none of her servants was allowed to enter her secret chambers, except for four of her maids. Witnesses could hear chains clattering from those rooms. Once, one of the witnesses stepped in the secret chamber, and, to her horror, she could see the Lady tormenting young girls, cutting them, burning them with red-hot iron, and beating them. There was so much blood spilled that they were walking in blood up to the ankles, and the Lady needed to change her gown. Lady Bathory was also accused of witchcraft and blasphemy, supposedly she wanted to harm her enemies by black magic. The Lady was never convicted officially; she was ordered not to leave her castle in Cachtice ever again. One of her maids had died by the time the trial occurred, the other three – Ilona, Dorottya, and Katalin – were tormented and executed by inquisitors; their nails were ripped off by iron tools, after that, their fingers, too, their bodies crushed, so, naturally, they were ready to testify against the Lady. Some of the Lady’s biographers say she was a sadistic psychopath; if the world had heard about her earlier, the word sadism would be bathorism today. However, other historians say that she, coming from a very rich and powerful noble family, had influential enemies who wanted her properties for themselves.
Bayard was a magical French horse with hooves that could split stone and the ability to change size to fit his rider(s). He could carry at least four knights at a time.
Baykok ("Skeletal") is a malevolent spirit from North American tradition (specifically Algonquin people of the Great Lakes area). It is said to appear as an extremely emaciated skeleton-like figure, with thin translucent skin and glowing red points for eyes. The Baykok only preys upon warriors, but does so ruthlessly, using invisible arrows or beating its prey to death with a club. The Baykok, after paralyzing or killing its prey, then devours the liver of its victim.
Beelzebub ("Lord of Flies") is the Baal (Semitic "Lord" god) of Ekron. This name is in the Greek tradition of Myiagros who wards away flies and the decay that they are associated with.
The Bear is the symbol of Russia. It is also two constellations; Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
Behemoth is an old Semitic word for Elephant. What is translated as a "tail" in most Bibles is really his enormous penis. In Jewish mythology it is the archetype of the great beast on land.
Belenus is the Celtic god of the Sun-chariot.
Beleth (also spelled Bilet, Bileth and Byleth) is a mighty and terrible king of Hell, who has eighty-five legions of demons under his command. He is the thirteenth Demon in the Ars Goetia. He rides a pale horse, and all kind of music is heard before him. It is said that Ham, Noah's son, was the first in invoking him after the flood, and wrote a book on Mathematics with his help. When appearing he looks very fierce to frighten the conjurer or to see if he is courageous. The conjurer must be brave, and holding a hazel wand in his hand must draw a triangle by striking towards the South, East, and upwards, and command Beleth into it by means of some conjurations. If he does not obey, the conjurer must rehearse all threats the conjurations said. Then, Beleth will obey and do all that he is commanded, but the conjurer must be respectful and pay homage unto Beleth due to his rank, and hold a silver ring in the middle finger of the left hand against his face, as it is the use of hellish kings and princes before Amaymon. Beleth gives all the love of men and women he is commanded until the conjurer is satisfied.
Belial is a Hebrew word that means "without worth". It is personified as a spirit, demon or god of worthlessness. Belial is listed as the sixty-eighth spirit of the Ars Goetia. In that text he is described as a King of Hell with 80 legions of demons under his command.
Bells are associated with warding away hostile spirits and summoning thunderstorms.
Bell, Book and Candle are used in Excommunication.
Bellerophon ("Beast Killer") is the hero who killed Chimera while riding Pegasus.
Belobog is a Russian god of light and tolerant benevolence.
Beltane is the Celtic beginning of summer. It is named after the sun god Belenus.
Bendigeidfran's Cauldron was said to return the dead to life, but without the ability to speak. This is the origin of the legend of "the Black Cauldron".
Beowulf is a hero of the Geats and the name of a famous English poem about the titular hero.
Beowulf's second sword was used when his first sword, Hrunting, was unable to harm Grendel's mother. This second sword allowed him to kill her. Unfortunately her blood destroyed the blade. The hilt was engraved with legendary images.
Bergelmir is Thrudgelmir's son and Ymir's grandson.
Berith, whose name means 'He who binds to the covenant' in Hebrew and Akkadian, is the twenty eighth Demon in the Ars Goetia. He is a Great Duke of Hell, powerful and terrible, and has twenty-six legions of demons under his command. He tells things of the past, present and future with true answers; he can also turn all metals into gold, give dignities to men and confirm them. He speaks with a clear and subtle voice, but lies when not directly answering questions. To speak with him the conjurer must wear a silver ring and put it before his face in the same form as it is needed in Beleth's and Amaymon's cases. He is depicted as a soldier wearing red clothes, a golden crown, and riding a red horse. His power is stronger in June. To some he suggests murder and blasphemy. It is said that his adversary is St.Barnabas. His name is seen in the Book of Judges (8:33, 9:4, 9:46) and may have been the origin of the name of the city of Beirut.
Berserkers were a class of Germanic warriors named for the bear-shirts they wore in battle. They were a sort of pagan religious warrior inspired by Odin, the god of the ecstatic state of mind, to become hyper ferocious in battle.
Bes is an Egyptian god who is the Protector of the Household.
Bezaliel ("Shadow of God") is the 13th of 20 Watcher leaders listed in the Book of Enoch.
Bible ("Book") is the collected sacred texts of the Christian religion. It overlaps with Jewish and Islamic scriptures.
Bifrons is a the forty sixth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and an Earl of Hell, with six legions of demons under his command. He teaches sciences and arts, the virtues of the gems and woods, herbs, and changes corpses from their original grave into other places, sometimes putting magick lights on the graves that seem candles. He appears as a monster, but then changes his shape into that of a man. The origin of the name is the Roman god Janus.
Bifrost is a legendary rainbow bridge in Nordic mythology.
Bishops are high ranking Catholic Priests.
Bixies are Chinese turtle-dragons often used as statues for good luck.
Black is a color associated with cthonic gods in Classical mythology.
The Black Tortoise is a Chinese turtle like dragon associated with the north.
Blasting is cursing crops, people and animals.
The Blood Curse (on the Jewish people) is a Christian interpretation of Matthew 27:25 - "At that all the people said in answer: 'Let his [Jesus'] blood come upon us and upon our children.'". This interpretation has historically inspired a lot of Christian prejudice and discrimination against Jews.
The Blood Eagle is a pagan Viking method of ritual sacrifice in which the lungs are pulled out of a person's back so they look like wings.
The Blood Qu'ran of Saddam Hussein is a Qu'ran that is said to be written in Saddam's blood. Writing a Qu'ran in blood is forbidden in Islam, making this a very sinister artifact. There is of course also the possibility that Hussein used his victims' blood instead of or in addition to his own...
The Blót was a Norse pagan animal sacrifice.
Jean Bodin was a French hater of witches and expert on witchcraft. He wrote De la Demonomanie des Sorciers.
Bodies are the physical part of person. In the Christian paradigm Jesus was God's body. He needed a body to be martyred and therefore overcome the power of human sacrifice to pagan gods. Even though Jesus died, God's spirit lives on. Killing Jesus did not get rid of him - it got rid of Mars and Caesar worship, at least in the form of the dominant god. Mars and Caesar had to submit to the Father in Heaven eventually because of Jesus' sacrifice.
Bogeymen ("scary men") are frightening manlike monster spirits from the Nordic and/or Celtic lands.
Bokors, or users of Bo, are West African wielders of frightening supernatural power. This tradition is less focussed on divination than some others but instead uses their power to harm people. Bokor (and not Necromancy, and not Voudou) is the tradition that invented Zombies. Zombies are actually living people who have been transformed into half-dead, near mindless servants through a process of hypnotism and long term application of nerve poisons. If there ever really were a Zombie Apocalypse, killing the Zombies would be murder, and don't blame the Necromancers or the Voudoun either. It's the Bokors you gotta hunt down. They are also known for curses e.g. Bokor can be hired to curse slaves so that the slaves will be too afraid to escape.
The Bonnacon is a fabulous animal from Asia. It has the mane of a horse, but in all other respects resembles a bull; its horns are curved back in such a manner as to be of no use for fighting, and it is said that because of this it saves itself by running away, meanwhile emitting a trail of dung that sometimes covers a distance of as much as three furlongs (600 m), contact with which scorches pursuers like a sort of fire. It is probably based on some sort of bison.
Boreas is the Greek god of the north wind.
Botis is the seventeenth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a Great President and Earl of Hell, commanding sixty legions of demons. He tells of all things past and future, and reconciles friends and foes. He is depicted as an ugly viper, but when he changes shape, he puts himself in human shape, with big teeth and two horns. When in human shape he carries a sharp and bright sword in his hand.
The Boxers were Chinese kung-fu Invokers who rebelled against the British in 1899 in the famous Boxer Rebellion.
The Brass Serpent of Moses could cure poison. It was destroyed when people began to worship it as an idol.
Brigid is a Celtic goddess of fire and smithing. She is also honored as a Saint.
Brontes is the Greek personification of Thunder. He is a cyclops.
Brujas are Hispanic witches.
Brunnhilde is a Valkyrie.
A Buddha is a person who has become enlightened. The concept comes from India.
President Buer is a the tenth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is a spirit that appears in the 16th century grimoire Pseudomonarchia Daemonum and its derivatives, where he is described as a Great President of Hell, having fifty legions of demons under his command. He appears when the Sun is in Sagittarius. Buer teaches Natural and Moral Philosophy, Logic, and the virtues of all herbs and plants. He also heals all infirmities, especially of men, and gives good familiars. He is depicted in the shape of Sagittarius, which is as a centaur with a bow and arrows. Additionally, Louis Le Breton created an illustration of Buer, later engraved by M. Jarrault, depicting the demon as having the head of a lion and five goat legs.
Bugbears ("scary bears") are creepy bear spirits found in Britain.
The Bull is the symbol of Spain. It is sometimes a symbol for England as well (as a reference to John Bull).
The Bull of Heaven was sent by Ishtar to punish Gilgamesh for rejecting her, but it was slain in the attempt.
The Bulldog is the symbol of England.
Buné, the twenty sixth entry in the Ars Goetia, is a Great Duke of Hell, mighty and strong, who has thirty legions of demons under his command. He changes the place of the dead and makes them demons that are under his power to gather together upon those sepulchres. Buné makes men eloquent and wise, and gives true answers to their demands and also richness. He speaks with a comely high voice. Buné is depicted as a three-headed dragon, being his heads like those of a dog, a griffin, and a man.
Bunny-men are illustrated in quite a few medieval manuscripts. Based on the images, they are ferocious and skilled with various weapons.
Bunyips are mysterious Australian water-beasts of legend.
Búri is the Nordic god who is grandfather to Odin. He was licked free from Ymir's ice by a cosmic cow named Auðumbla.
Cabeza de Vaca was a Spanish explorer in the New World who became a shaman in the indigenous traditions of North America.
Caelus is the Roman name for the sky titan known to the Greeks as Uranus.
Cain was the first murderer. His story is described in the Bible.
Caissa is the goddess of chess.
Cakes and Wine is a Wiccan ritual.
Callisto was a Greek nymph and sworn virgin priestess of Artemis. Zeus impregnated her and Artemis turned her into a bear and set her in the heavens as a constellation.
Calypso (Καλυψώ, "Concealer") was a nymph in Greek mythology who lived on the island of Ogygia, where she detained Odysseus for several years. She is generally said to be the daughter of Atlas the Titan. Hesiod mentions either a different Calypso or the same Calypso as one of the Oceanid daughters of Tethys and Oceanus, and Pseudo-Apollodorus as one of the Nereids daughters of Nereus and Doris.
Camaxtli is the Tlaxcalan patron god. He may be the same as the Mexican gods Mixcoatl and/or Xipe Totec.
A Cambion is a person born to a mortal mother with an Incubus father. Since Incubi cannot generate life, they must change to Succubi, couple with a man, store his seed and release it into a woman in Incubus form to make a Cambion. Merlin was said to be a Cambion.
Camio is the fifty third Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a Great President of Hell, ruling over thirty legions of demons. Much detail is offered: he is a good disputer, gives men the understanding of the voices of birds, bullocks, dogs, and other creatures, and of the noise of the waters too, and gives true answers concerning things to come. He appears in the form of the black bird called a thrush, but soon he changes his shape into a man that has a sharp sword in his hand. When answering questions he seems to stand on burning ashes or coals. The title 'President' of Hell would suggest a parallel with the presiding officer of a college or convocation, which are the only pre-modern uses of the term. Camio's name seems to be taken from the biblical first murderer, Cain.
Candles are used in many ritual traditions. A common example is lighting a candle in a church as part of a minor prayer ritual.
The Canon Episcopi claimed to have knowledge of witches.
Cardinals are very high ranking Catholic Priests. They select the Popes from their ranks.
Carnwennan, "Little White Hilt" was King Arthur's dagger. ~400 CE. He used it to slice the Very Black Witch in half (Culhwch and Olwen)
Catequil is the Incan god of thunder and lightning.
Catoblepas are an Ethiopian legendary herbivore the size of a bull which has a head so heavy it cannot lift it. If it ever did lift it's head, the gaze (or breath) of the sluggish beast would kill anyone meeting it.
Cauldrons are commonly used in Celtic Druidism.
The Celtic Cross is a modification of the swastika. Celts put iron rims on their tires to make their war chariots stronger and more terrifying and so their cross has a rim.
Centaurs are half man, half horse. They probably represent Asian cavalry as seen from the eyes of pre-cavalry Greeks. In legend they came from the coupling of Ixion and Nephele.
Cerberus is a three headed dog with a serpent's tail, a mane of snakes, and a lion's claws born of Typhon and Echidna. He guards Hades, the underworld, to keep the dead in and the living out. One of his heads sees the past, one the present, and the third the future. Herakles once subdued Cerberus and dragged him out of Hades to the surface as one of his famous Labors.
Ceres is the Roman name for Demeter.
The Cerne Giant is a huge carving of a naked man in England.
Cernunnos is the Celtic horned god of the wild woodlands. He is also said to be the Green Man, the Horned Man, Herne the Hunter and/or Pan.
Cetus was the great sea dragon that Poseidon sent to eat Andromeda. It was turned to stone by Perseus using Medusa's head in Aethiopia. His name is the origin of the word "cetacean", used for whales.
Chaos was the primordial condition of the universe in Greek mythology.
Chaak is the Mayan storm god. He wields a lightning axe.
Chakras are places along the spine associated with mysticism in Hinduism.
Chang'e is the Chinese moon goddess.
Charon is the spirit that ferries the souls of the Greek dead across the river Acheron.
Chazaqiel is a Watcher who taught men the signs of the clouds.
Chemosh is a god mentioned in the Bible.
Chernobog is the Russian god of darkness and evil.
Cherubim are servants of the Abrahamic God. Cherubim with flaming swords were placed by God to block Adam and Even from returning to Eden.
Chi is a Chinese concept of "mystical life energy" which empowers people who have trained and meditated to develop it. Japanese and Koreans call it "Ki".
Chicomoztoc is the specific location (a group of tunnels) within Aztlan that the Aztecs came from.
Chimera was one of the monstrous children of the great dragons Typhon and Echidna. She lived on Mount Chimera in Anatolia (Turkey), a mountain with natural fires coming out of the ground. She was lion in front, serpent/dragon behind, a goat in the middle (probably with the goat's head lifted up and the lion's lower down), and breathed fire. Bellerephon killed her while riding upon Pegasus by shoving a lump of lead down her throat which melted and suffocated her. Interestingly this implies she was unable to breathe out of her other two heads...
Chiromancy is Latin for palm-reading. This is one of the Seven Forbidden Arts in the Rennaissance.
Chiron was a legendarily wise Centaur in Greek legend.
Christianity is an originally southern European variation on Abrahamic monotheism which was born when Jesus, titled "the Christ" because he had been anointed with oil in some sort of ceremony, was sacrificed to Mars.
Chupacabras are vampire bat like creatures in Mexican folklore whose name means "Sucker of Goats".
Cimeries (Hebrew spelling KYMAVR - may be related to Chimera, Cimmerians or "Black Light") is most widely known as the 66th demon of the Ars Goetia. He is described as a godly warrior riding a black horse, and possesses the abilities of locating lost or hidden treasures, teaching trivium (grammar, logic and rhetoric) and making a man into a warrior of his own likeness. He holds the rank of marquis, and is served by 20 legions. He also rules over all the spirits of Africa and can cause a person to cross seas and rivers quickly. The four of disks and the third decan of Capricorn by night are attributed to him.
Circe is a legendary Mediterranean sorceress who was known for turning Odysseus and his men into pigs. She was the daughter of Helios and Oceanid.
Claíomh Solais ("Shining Sword") is a magical Irish sword.
Clarent was the Sword in the Stone which could only be drawn by the true King of Britain, Arthur ~400 CE. It was later broken and replaced with Excalibur. It probably looked something like a Roman Spatha influenced by the Celtic iron age sword - straight, one handed, double edged, about three feet long and made of primitive steel. May or may not have had a small cross guard. "a sword of peace meant for knighting and ceremonies as opposed to battle" (Alliterative Morte Arthure).
Cleromancy is another name for Sorcery.
Clovers are symbolic of religion in Ireland. The three lobed clover represents the Christian Trinity, while the four lobed clover represents pagan mysticism.
Clurichauns are the drunken and surly cousins of Leprechauns. They are heavily associated with wine.
Coatlicue ("Snake-Skirt") is a Mexican goddess who was mother to many other important gods.
A Cockatrice is a legendary hybrid of rooster and serpent which is said to be incredibly deadly, causing death or petrification. The legend may have originated with the Nile Crocodile and the birds which pick its teeth. It is similar to the Basilisk.
Cocytus ("Lamentation") is the River of Wailing in Hades according to Greek mythology.
Coeus is the Greet Titan who is the personification of the Earth's axis of rotation.
Coifi was a pagan Anglo-Saxon priest who converted to Christianity.
Colada was one of El Cid's legendary swords.
The Colchian Dragon was a never sleeping dragon sacred to Ares which guarded the Golden Fleece.
Collin de Plancy was a demonologist.
The Compendium Maleficarum was a book on witchcraft for those who wanted to destroy witches.
Confession is a Catholic ritual in which a person tells their sins to a priest who suggests penance.
Conjuration (Latin for "swear together") is a type of sorcery used for binding and controlling spirits.
Consecrate means to "make sacred".
Coranaiads were Dwarves who plagued Britain during the reign of King Ludd (Lludd and Llefelys). They were defeated by poisoning them with crushed insects. Their hearing was so acute that they could hear anything the wind touched, making it impossible to deceive them. In the legend a device was used to muffle the voices of the poisoners.
A Coven is a small group or clique of witches.
Coyolxauhqui is the dismembered Mexican moon goddess.
Criosphinxes are Egyptian beasts with rams' heads on the body of lions.
Crocell is the 49th spirit of the Ars Goetia, manifesting as an angel with a tendency to speak in dark and mysterious ways. Once a member of the Powers, he is now a Duke of Hell who rules over 48 legions of demons. When summoned by a conjuror, he can teach geometry and other liberal sciences. He can also warm bodies of water, create the illusion of the sound of rushing waters, and reveal the location of natural baths.
Crom is a Celtic earth god that in legend Saint Patrick shattered with his shillelagh. This is god of the fictional Conan the Barbarian.
Cronos is the Greek personification of time.
Cronus is the Greek sickle god, son of Uranus and father of Zeus.
Alistair Crowley was a famous modern magician.
Cthulhu is H.P. Lovecraft's spelling and interpretation of Kadulu, which means "the Deceiver", from Koran 25:29: "For mankind, Kadulu is Satan" which means "For mankind, the deceiver is the enemy". Either Kadulu (deceiver), Satan (enemy) or both can be treated as proper names or descriptions providing somewhat different meanings in each case. Islam treats Satan as a name or title, but Kadulu as a description - "the deceiver". Lovecraft chose to interpret this part of the Koran differently and it gave rise to his cult-classic fictional mythos. In Lovecraft's novels Cthulhu is a Godzilla sized octopus headed dragon-man hibernating under the ocean. He is to awaken when the stars are aligned in a specific way so the Persian Magi astrologers should know before hand.
Cuchulainn ("Culann's Hound") was a legendary Celtic hero. He earned his name when he slew Culann's dog and felt honor bound to take the dog's place until a replacement was available.
Curtana was the sword of Ogier the Dane.
Cyclopses occur in at least two different roles in Greek legend. The Cyclops Odysseus encountered in the Odyssey was probably inspired by dwarf elephant skulls found on the islands of the Mediterranean. The nasal cavity looked like an eye socket to the ancients. The Cyclopses that forged Zeus' thunderbolt were a different type of cyclops with a different origin. One possibility is that they represented the ancient caste of smiths who covered one eye so that eye remained acclimated to the dark while the other eye was acclimated to bright light (the same reason some pirates wore them).
Mount Cyllene was the mythical birthplace of Hermes.
Cynocephali are dog headed men described by Pliny. Possibly based on the baboon.
Dagon is an ancient Semitic god associated with fertility of grains and fish. ~2500 BCE This is the god whose temple Samson destroyed in the famous scene with the pillars.
Dainsleif is a Nordic legendary sword that gave wounds that would never heal. It could not be unsheathed without killing a man.
Daimon, or Daemon, is the Greek name for a spirit. Daimons are not necessarily evil; eudaimons are good spirits, e.g. the spirit of happiness is a eudaimon.
Dáinn is one of the stags that eats from Yggdrasil.
Damballah-Wedo is a major Voodoo god.
Dânêl is one of the "Chiefs of Ten" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Dantalion, seventy first entry in the Ars Goetia, is a powerful Great Duke of Hell, with thirty-six legions of demons under his command. He teaches all arts and sciences, and also declares the secret counsel of anyone, given that he knows the thoughts of all people and can change them at his will. He can also cause love and show the similitude of any person, show the same by means of a vision, and let them be in any part of the world they will. He is depicted as a man with many appearances, which means the faces of all men and women holding a book in one of his hands:
Datura is a hallucinogenic flower. It is the main drug used to keep Zombies' minds foggy and confused.
Dazbog is the Slavic sun god. He is the son of Svarog.
Decarabia is the sixty ninth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia, and a Great Marquis of Hell, or a King and Earl. He has thirty legions of demons under his command. Decarabia knows the virtues of all herbs and precious stones, and can change into all birds and sing and fly like them before the conjurer. He is depicted as appearing as a pentagram star, changing into a man under the conjurer's request.
Dedun is a Nubian god associated with lions, incense, fire and wealth.
John Dee was Queen Elizabeth I's astrologer.
Deimos is the Greek god of Terror. He is the son of Aphrodite and Ares and twin brother of Phobos.
Delphi is a location in Greece known to be home to an oracle of legendary power.
Demeter is the Greek goddess of the harvest.
Demogorgon is the name of a god mentioned in the late fourth century CE. Whether this god was ever worshipped by anybody is unknown
Demon is a Christian modification of the Greek word for "spirit", Daimon. "Demon" implies that the spirit is evil and unGodly. The original Greek meaning is still used in the word Daemon. Daemons are generally not evil.
The Demon of Poverty is a Jewish Angel-like Demon who punishes those who step on crumbs of food. The Demon sees this as showing contempt for hungry people and deserving of punishment, sanctioned by God.
Devas are Hindu spirits or gods of a different type than the Asura.
Devil is a Greek word that means "he who slanders" i.e. "he who makes false accusations".
Diana is the Roman name for the virgin Huntress of the moonlight.
Dilong are Chinese earth dragons.
Dionysus is the Greek god of wine.
Dis is another name for Pluto. Dis-pater means "Father Dis".
Disciplina is the Roman goddess of discipline. Her virtues were frugality, sternness and faithfulness. Her image adorns Hadrian's Wall, symbolizing the way Roman discipline held the barbarians at bay.
The Discoverie of Witchcraft is a Renaissance book about witchcraft.
Divination ("to see like the Divine") is a spell or ritual intended to bring knowledge via occult means.
Djinn are Arab spirits, made from fire, which are distinct from humans and angels.
Domovoi are Slavic house spirits.
Donner is the German god of Thunder. He is the same being as Thor.
Dopplegangers ("walking double") are a person's exact double living elsewhere.
Dracula is a title that means "son of a knight of the Order of the Dragon". Dracul is the father's title that means "Knight of the Dragon".
Dragons are powerful spirits observed in a number of different phenomena depending on the specific dragon. Most dragons of legend in the European tradition were things like whales, crocodiles, snakes or volcanoes. In East Asia they were usually storms and floods or water reptiles. Dinosaur bones were thought to be dragon bones.
The four Dragon Kings live under the sea off the coasts of China and Japan. There was one for each cardinal direction.
Draugs are a type of Nordic undead of great power. Draugar possess superhuman strength, can increase their size at will, and carry the unmistakable stench of decay. They are undead corpses from Norse/Icelandic mythology, that appear to retain some semblance of intelligence. They exist either to guard their treasure, wreak havoc on living beings, or torment those who had wronged them in life.
Draupner "The Dipper" is Odin's Ring of Power, created by the dwarf brothers, Brokk and Eiti. The ring could create nine other gold rings; each new ring was of the same size and weight of the original ring.
Druids are Celtic pagan priests and wielders of supernatural power. They are known for some of the more exciting and dramatic uses of supernatural power such as calling down fire on their enemies, invisibility spells, transformation to animals, and other high-fantasy sort of stuff. In legend these powers are often emphasized by Irish Catholics who are describing how Saint Patrick channelled the even greater power of God to overcome their powers, something like when Moses and Aaron were challenged to a show of power by Pharoah's personal wonder workers.
Dryads are Greek tree nymphs.
Duneyrr is one of the stags that eats from Yggdrasil.
Durandal ("Durable") was Roland's legendary sword. It was so hard that it could split boulders.
Duraþrór is one of the stags that eats from Yggdrasil.
Durga is a Hindu god allied to Kali.
Dvalinn is one of the stags that eats from Yggdrasil.
Dvergar, or Dwarves, are the name for a race of people with dark hair who live in caves and work metals. I suspect this was the Nordic/Germanic name for what we now call the Halstadt culture, ancestors of Celts and Slavs, inventors of much metal working technology, known as "Alpines" by Madison Grant. An Anglo Saxon Wizard spell called Against a Dwarf implied that Dwarves were known to cause nightmares, insomnia and fever.
Dwarves in the supernatural sense are a specifically Germanic type of supernatural creature. The original name was Dvergar. They may be the same as the proto-Celtic Halstadt culture. The Dwarves in Tolkein's fiction were modelled after Jews - seeking their lost home in the mountains, with a legendary greed for gold...
Dyeus is the original word from which the words Zeus and Deus come from. Other modifications of his name led to the god names Tyr, Taranis, Jupiter and Dyaus Pita. He is the Father in Heaven.
Dyonune are Dogon (West African) spellcasters.
Dyodyonune are Dogon (West African) healers.
Dysnomia is the goddess of lawlessness.
Echeneis (or Remora) is a legendary fish that latched on to ships and slowed them down.
Echidna is a female earth-dragon and the mate of Typhon.
Eden is where Western civilization began. It was located where the Persian Gulf is today.
Egeking is a legendary British sword which was said to have been made in the far east.
Egil's Saga is an Icelandic saga. The oldest transcript (a fragment) dates back to 1240 CE. The saga is centered on the life of Egil Skallagrimsson, an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald.
In Norse mythology, the einherjar (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters") are those who have died in battle and are brought to Valhalla by valkyries. In Valhalla, the einherjar eat their fill of the nightly-resurrecting beast Sæhrímnir, and are brought their fill of mead (from the udder of the goat Heiðrún) by valkyries. The einherjar prepare daily for the events of Ragnarök, when they will advance for an immense battle at the field of Vígríðr; the battle which the "ein" (here meaning single-time) refers to. Heimdall occasionally returned the best of Einherjar to Midgard or Jotunheim with the purpose of killing giants, but they were forbidden to talk with the living. The einherjar are attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, the poem Hákonarmál (by the 10th century skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir) as collected in Heimskringla, and a stanza of an anonymous 10th century poem commemorating the death of Eric Bloodaxe known as Eiríksmál as compiled in Fagrskinna. Scholarly theories have been proposed etymologically connecting the einherjar to the Harii (a Germanic tribe attested in the 1st century CE)
Ek Chuaj is the Mayan god of merchants and cacao. He is depicted as black, sometimes with white stripes. Other distinguishing characteristics of Ek Chuaj are his mouth, which is encircled by a red-brown border, his large lower lip, and the presence of two curved lines to the right of his eye. Other depictions of Ek Chuaj show him as an old man with only a single tooth. He has been depicted with a pack of goods commonly carried by merchants. He may also carry a spear and, in some instances, a scorpion's tail.
Ekkisax, or Ekka's Seax, is a legendary Nordic sword or knife.
El is a proto-Semitic word that means "god". The plural is elohim.
The Elect are, in some Protestant belief systems, people who have been predestined for salvation by God.
The Elephant is the symbol of India.
Eligos (also Abigor or Eligor) is the fifteenth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a Great Duke of Hell, ruling 60 legions of demons. He discovers hidden things and knows the future of wars and how soldiers should meet. He also attracts the favor of lords, knights and other important persons.He is depicted in the form of a goodly knight carrying a lance, an ensign and a sceptre or serpent. Alternatively he is depicted as a ghostly spectre, sometimes riding a semi-skeletal (sometimes winged) horse, or the Steed of Abigor. This is a minion of Hell itself, and was a gift from Beelzebub. It was created from the remains of one of the horses of The Garden of Eden.
Elves are a specifically Germanic type of supernatural creature. Alfheim in Sweden and Norway is at the south edge of Lappland. It is said Frey rules over the Elves and Alfheim. Alf/Alp means "river" or "white" in Nordic languages. Sigvatr Þórðarson’s skaldic travelogue Austrfaravísur, composed around 1020, mentions an álfablót (‘elves' sacrifice’) in Edskogen in what is now southern Sweden. Possible connection to the Sami people. Volundr was an Elf. "Elf Crosses" - pentagrams or crosses on metal pendants - are used to ward away elves. See also Bald's Leechbook, Lacnunga, Prose Edda, Poetic Edda, Völundarkviða, Sturlunga saga, Kormáks saga, Eyrbyggja saga, Kings' sagas, Norna-Gests þáttr, Heimskringla, The Saga of Thorstein, Viking's Son, Hrólfs saga kraka, Þiðreks saga, Münchener Nachtsegen.
Elysium, or the Elysian Fields, in Greek mythology is where heroic individuals would go after death instead of going to Hades. It was said to be an island located in the far west of the known world near the Atlantic Ocean.
Empyrean is the mythical location to which fire rises. It is said to be above the air, and so the word has come to be associated with the sky dome/firmament as well as God's dwelling place in Heaven. It is a sort of Elemental Plane of Fire.
Enchantment is a French word for Incantation, which means verbally spoken spell.
Enki is the Sumerian god of water.
Enkidu was a wild man and Gilgamesh's best friend and rival.
Enlil is the Sumerian god of the air and king of the gods.
Ent is the Anglo-Saxon word for Giant. Tree-ents (treants) are tree-giants.
The Enuma Elish is a Babylonian scripture or legendary document describing their gods.
Eostre is a Nordic goddess of fertility. The term 'estrus' (for menstruation) comes from her name as does the holiday Easter.
Ephippas is an Angel-Like Demon of the wind that Solomon's servant captured in Arabia using Michael's Ring and a wineskin.
The Episcopalian Church is a Protestant Anglo-American Christian church that diverged from Anglicanism when the USA became independent from the British Empire. It tended to have congregations of "Old Whites" during the First Great Awakening period.
Epona is the Gaulish (French Celtic) name for the Goddess of Horses. She was honored by most European cultures such as Greek, Roman, German etc suggesting she was an ancient Indo-European goddess.
Erebos is the Greek god of primal darkness.
Ergot is a grain fungus that causes hallucinations.
Erictho was a powerful and hideous Sorceress and Theurgist living in Thessaly during Pompey's time.
Erinyes are the goddesses of vengeance. They were created when Cronus castrated Uranus.
Eris is the Greek goddess of strife and discord who stalked the battlefield. She helped the Trojan War by casting a golden apple addresed "to the fairest" amongst the company of goddesses. She is Ares' sister.
Ethiopians, in ancient European writing, had their faces in their chests and no heads.
Ettins are the Old English name for "giants" of Norse legend. Other Germanic languages spell it "Jotunn". There is no requirement that Ettins have two heads in mythology unlike in modern fantasy games like D&D or Ultima. However some did have multiple heads.
Eurus is the Greek god of the east wind.
Euryale ("Far-Roaming") is one of Medusa's sisters.
Eurynomos is a black-blue skinned daemon of the underworld which devours the flesh of the dead.
The Evil Eye is a means of cursing people by glaring at them malevolently. It seems to be associated with "Western" culture; East Asia and pre-Columbian America may not have had this technique. It is said that light colored eyes (blue or green) may help a person cast the Evil Eye; but the same traits may make a person more vulnerable to it as well. Many symbols and gestures are associated with warding off or reflecting the Evil Eye, such as eye-shaped symbols or sexual symbols.
Evocation is the Latin name for conjuring and controlling supernatural entitites. Originally it was used by Roman Legions to supernaturally control a city's "tutelary deity" so the conquest of the city would not be spiritually challenged. Theurgy, Goetia and Conjuration are similar to Evocation.
Excalibur ("Hard Cleaver", also known as Caledfwlch in Welsh) was given to King Arthur after his first sword, Clarent, broke. ~400 CE. It was probably something like a Roman Spatha influenced by Celtic ideas; straight, about three feet long, double edged, one handed, made of steel, minimal crossguard if any "with a design of two chimeras on the golden hilt; when the sword was unsheathed what was seen from the mouths of the two chimeras was like two flames of fire, so dreadful that it was not easy for anyone to look". - (from The Mabinogion, translated by Jeffrey Gantz - possibly pattern welded). It was said to be engraved with words on both sides of the blade. "It was used by Arthur's warrior Llenlleawg the Irishman to kill the Irish king Diwrnach while stealing his magical cauldron. Malory writes that Excalibur shine or glowed brightly - "it was so breyght in his enemyes eyen that it gaf light lyke thirty torchys." Many interpretations of the legend appear to endow the sword with a cutting strength and durability beyond that of ordinary weapons, making it unbreakable by anything but wrongful acts of its user. Excalibur's scabbard was said to have powers of its own. Injuries from losses of blood, for example, would not kill the bearer. In some tellings, wounds received by one wearing the scabbard did not bleed at all. The scabbard was stolen by Morgan le Fay and thrown into a lake, never to be found again.
Exorcism is a type of Evocation used to banish spirits.
The Eye of Horus is an Egyptian mystical symbol.
Êzêqêêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Fae "those who have spoken" are spirits named by the Romans after the Fates. The word was adopted by Germanic and Celtic cultures from Rome.
Faery is a place where Fae can be found. The name is a combination of Fae- and -ery and is similar in structure and meaning to words like "nunnery" (i.e. a place where nuns can be found) or "bakery" (i.e. a place where baked goods can be found).
Fafnir was a man or dwarf in the Völsunga saga who turned into a dragon due to his greed. He was killed by Gram the sword.
The Falcon is the symbol of Horus and therefore of Egypt.
Familiars are witches' personal helper spirits in the form of animals.
The Father in Heaven is the one supreme God with a capital G. This is the god that nearly every religion in the world recognizes and worships. Mongols call him Tengri. Christians, the Heavenly Father. Indo-Europeans call him Zeus, or Deus, or Ju-Pater, or Tyr, or Tar-Anis, or any number of other modifications of the original name Dyeus. Rome even emphasized the commonality of the Abrahamic monotheistic God and Jupiter by giving him the title Jupiter Optimus Maximus which means something like "God in Heaven, our Father, who is number one to the maximum extent"
The Feather Cloak of Freyja allows the wearer to turn into a falcon.
Februa is a Roman ritual of Springtime purification. It took place on February 15. The month of February was named for it.
Februus is the Roman god of purification; the personification of the Februa ritual.
The Fenris Wolf is Loki's son. He is bound by the magical ribbon Gleipneir and he bit off the hand of Tyr in revenge for being bound. He comes loose at Ragnarok.
A Fetch is either a Shaman's personal helper spirit or an Irish Doppleganger.
Fetishes ("Made Things") are Voodoo amulets.
Fierabras was a Saracen giant who stole relics. He was an enemy of the Paladins.
The First Horseman of the Apocalypse, Conquest, rode a white horse and carried a bow. This represents the conquering horse archer people of Asia, especially Parthia. Possibly this is the Sassanid god Verethragna.
Flagellation is beating with whips. Some medieval Christians flagellated themselves in repentance for their sins.
Flauros is a strong Great Duke of Hell, having either twenty or thirty-six legions of demons under his rule. He is the sixty fourth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He gives true answers of all things past, present and future, but he must be first commanded to enter a magic triangle for if not he will lie, deceive the conjurer, and beguile him in other business. But if he enters the triangle he will answer truly, and gladly speak about divinity, the creation of the world, himself, and other fallen angels. He can also destroy all the conjurer's enemies by burning them up. It is said he can even inflict vengeance on other demons. If the magician requests it, he will not suffer temptations from any spirit or in any form. Flauros is depicted as a terrible and strong leopard that under request of the conjurer changes into a man with fiery eyes and an awful expression.
Focalor, the forty first Demon in the Ars Goetia, is a powerful Great Duke of Hell, commanding three or thirty legions of spirits. Focalor appears in the form of a man with a griffin's wings, kills men, drowns them, and overthrows warships; but if commanded by the conjurer he will not harm any man or thing. Focalor has power over wind and sea, and had hoped to return to heaven after one thousand years, but he was deceived in his hope. One of the three archdemons, Lucifuge Rofocale, has his second name as an anagram of Focalor.
Fomorians were, in legend, one of the races of people in Ireland before the Celts arrived.
Foras is the thirty first spirit listed in the Ars Goetia. He is a Mighty President, and appears in the Form of a Strong Man in Human Shape. He can give the understanding to Men how they may know the Virtues of all Herbs and Precious Stones. He teaches the Arts of Logic and Ethics in all their parts. If desired he makes men invisible, and to live long, and to be eloquent. He can discover Treasures and recover things Lost. He rules over 29 Legions of Spirits.
Forneus (related to 'furnace') is a Great Marquis of Hell and the thirtieth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He has twenty-nine legions of demons under his rule. He teaches Rhetoric and languages, gives men a good name, and makes them be loved by their friends and foes. He is depicted as a great sea monster.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, mentioned in Revelation, represented the factors that led to the end of the Classical Era and the beginning of the Dark Ages.
Four Stags named Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór chew on the leaves of the Nordic world tree Yggdrasil.
The Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse, Death, represented the end of the Classical era and the beginning of the Dark Ages. Much suffering and misery followed.
Fragarach ("the Answerer") is a legendary Celtic sword. It was said that no one could tell a lie or move with Fragarach at his or her throat. It was also said to place the wind at the user's command and could cut through any shield or wall, and had a piercing wound from which no man could recover.
Frey is a Nordic god associated with kingship, virility and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather, and was pictured as a phallic fertility god. Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals". Freyr was especially associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house. He is one of the Vanir, the son of the sea god Njörðr, and the twin brother of the goddess Freyja. The gods gave him Álfheimr, the realm of the Elves, as a teething present. He rides the shining dwarf-made boar Gullinbursti and possesses the ship Skíðblaðnir which always has a favorable breeze and can be folded together and carried in a pouch when it is not being used. He has the servants Skírnir, Byggvir, and Beyla. The most extensive surviving Freyr myth relates Freyr's falling in love with the female jötunn Gerðr. Eventually, she becomes his wife but first Freyr has to give away his magic sword which fights on its own "if wise be he who wields it". Although deprived of this weapon, Freyr defeats the jötunn Beli with an antler. However, lacking his sword, Freyr will be killed by the fire jötunn Surtr during the events of Ragnarök. Friday is named after him.
Frey's Sword is a legendary Nordic sword that "struck out at Jotunn of it's own accord".
Freya ("Lady") is a Nordic goddess of beauty.
Frigg is the wife of Odin.
Furcas or Forcas is the fiftieth entry in the Ars Goetia and a Knight of Hell. He rules 20 legions of demons. He teaches Philosophy, Astronomy, Rhetoric, Logic, Chiromancy and Pyromancy. Furcas is depicted as a strong old man with white hair and long white beard, who rides a horse while holding a pitch fork.
Furfur ('scoundrel/thief') is the thirty fourth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a powerful Great Earl of Hell, being the ruler of twenty-nine legions of demons. He is a liar unless compelled to enter a magic triangle where he gives true answers to every question, speaking with a rough voice. Furfur causes love between a man and a woman, creates storms, tempests, thunder, lightning, and blasts, and teaches on secret and divine things. He is depicted as a hart (deer) or winged hart, and also as an angel.
The Furies are the Roman name for what the Greeks call Erinyes.
Gaap, the thirty third Demon listed in the Ars Goetia, is a mighty Prince and Great President of Hell, commanding sixty-six legions of demons. He is the king and prince of the southern and/or western region of Hell and Earth. He is the guide of the four kings (the others being either Ziminiar, Corson and Amaymon, or Belial, Beleth, and Asmodai). He is said to be better conjured to appear when the Sun is in a southern zodiacal sign. Gaap specifically controls the element of water and reigns over the Water Elementals (Undines). Gaap teaches Philosophy and all liberal sciences, can cause love or hate and make men insensible and invisible, deliver familiars out of the custody of other magicians, teaches how to consecrate those things that belong to the dominion of Amaymon his king (there is a contradiction here, see above), gives true answers concerning past, present and future, and can carry and re-carry men and things speedily from one nation to another at the conjurer's will. He can also make men ignorant. Certain necromancers honour him with sacrifices and burning offerings. He is depicted in human shape.
Gadriel is a Watcher who taught the art of cosmetics, the use of weapons and killing blows.
Gabriel ("God is my strength") is an archangel. Some believe he was "the man in linen" of the Books of Daniel and Ezekiel.
Gadreel is listed in the Book of Enoch as one of the leaders of the 200 fallen angels who mated with humans. It is also said that he taught the art of cosmetics, the use of weapons and killing blows.
The Gae Assail ("Spear of Assail") was enchanted such that with the right magic words it would fly to a target and then return. It was owned by Lugh.
The Gae Bulg ("Belly Spear") was Cuchulain's magic spear. It had the power to fill the target's body full of barbs such that removing the weapon caused increased wounding.
Gaea is the Greek Earth-Titaness.
Gama-Gorib is the enemy of the Khoisan hero Heitsi-Eibib.
Marquis Gamigin (also Gamygin, Gamigm or Samigina) is the fourth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is a Great Marquis of Hell who rules over thirty legions of demons. He teaches all liberal sciences and gives an account of the souls of those who died in sin and who drowned in the sea, speaking with a rough voice. He also answers what is asked about, and stays with the conjurer until he or she is satisfied. Gamigin is depicted as a little horse or a donkey, which changes form into a man under the conjurer's request.
Gancanagh ("Love-Talker") are a type of Irish Incubus.
Gandalf is a Germanic word that means "Good Elf".
Ganesha is a popular Hindu elephant headed god. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honored at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions.Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity.The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.
Gargouille was a French water dragon that according to legend was captured and slain by Saint Romain in the early 600's. It was probably a whale. In the legend the dragon's head was hung on a church and used as a waterspout, which was the origin of the Gargoyles that decorate medieval churches.
Garm ("rag") is a blood stained watchdog that guards the gate to Hel.
Gashadokuro ("Starving Skeleton") are, in Japanese mythology, giant composite skeletons made of the bones of those who starve to death.
Gaunab is a Khoisan god who represents the opposition to Tsui-goab, the Creator. He lives in the Black Sky.
Gauwa is the !Kung word for spirit.
Geb is the Egyptian Earth god.
The Gegenees were a tribe of six-armed Mysian giants slain by the Argonauts.
Gehenna is a valley in Israel where children were sacrificed to pagan gods by burning. The abstraction of this mythical place became the modern concept of Hell - where sinners burn.
Genii were originally a Roman name for a type of spirit. Specifically, Genii is the plural, and Genius the singular. The word has come to mean roughly the same thing as the Arab Djinn in common speech.
Geomancy is the Latin name for the study of the ground for mystical information. The Chinese concept of Fung Shue is often described as geomancy. This is one of the Seven Forbidden Arts in the Rennaissance.
Geryon was a winged giant with three bodies who lived in Tartessos in Greek legend (possibly the Iberian peninsula). Heracles had to steal his cattle as one of his labors. Medusa was Geryon's grandmother. Geryon is also a monstrous creature described in Dante's Inferno, but with a different description - this Geryon is the Monster of Fraud, a winged beast with the face of an honest man, the paws of a lion, the body of a wyvern, and a poisonous sting at the tip of his tail.
King Gesar, 'the Great Lion, Wish-fulfilling Jewel, Subduer of Foes' is a central Asian culture hero. He had a miraculous birth, a despised and neglected childhood, and then became ruler and won his (first) wife ’Brug-mo through a series of marvelous feats. He defended his people against various external aggressors, human and superhuman. Instead of dying a normal death he departs into a hidden realm from which he may return at some time in the future to save his people from their enemies. He has a magical horse named Kyang Go Karkar.
Ghentu-debata is the Hindu god of skin disease and a companion of Shitala.
Ghost is a Germanic word for spirit. Over time it has come to imply the spirits of the dead who have returned in an intangible form to haunt the living.
Ghost Dance was a ritual used by indigenous people of North America to reverse the decline in their fortunes since the USA took over.
Ghost Shirts were indigenous American magical armor that was supposed to stop bullets, but did not.
Ghouls are an Arabian supernatural creature which eats corpses. Some stories say it can change into a hyena.
Giants are common in mythology all over the world, but the word is used to describe many wildly different entities by different people. Huge people of seven or eight feet in height like Goliath are called giants. Nordic Jotunn are often called Giants though this may not be perfectly accurate. Some giants are inferred from enormous stoneworks created by nature (or Romans), which "must" have been created by giants. Sometimes the Biblical Nephilim are called giants, though again this may not be appropriate.
Gilgamesh was the legendary ruler of Uruk (Iraq). He was infamous for demanding that he have sex with a man's virgin wife before the husband. This applied to every marriage in the kingdom and led to much resentment.
Ginnungagap is the chasm between Muspelheim and Niflheim in Nordic mythology.
Gjallahorn is the horn that is sounded when Ragnarok has come. It is owned by Heimdall.
A Glamor is a magical illusion.
Glasya-Labolas is the twenty fifth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is a mighty President of Hell who commands thirty-six legions of demons. He is the author and captain of manslaughter and bloodshed, tells all things past and to come, gains the minds and love of friends and foes causing love among them if desired, incites homicides and can make a man invisible. He is depicted as a dog with the wings of a griffin.
Glaukos was a Greek fisherman transformed into a fish-tailed sea-god after tasting a magical herb.
Gleipneir is a magical ribbon used to bind the Fenris wolf. It was made of "noise of a cat, beard of woman, breath of a fish and spittle of a bird", which is why those things do not exist - they were used for the ribbon.
Gnomes were considered the Elementals of Earth in the Renaissance.
Goblins are possibly a variation of the word 'Kobolds'.
Gods are spirits that are inferred from observation of the world. How do we know that Zeus exists? You can see the rainclouds and lightning bolts. The storm almost has a personality...a sort of "stormy personality" that looks on from above, usually benevolently, fertilizing the land, but which can smite anyone or anything if he gets angry...that's the Father in Heaven. Other gods can be seen in human behavior. War has a personality. So does eroticism. These spirits are very powerful. Romans named them Mars and Venus. But the Heavenly Father is greater.
Goetia is another name for Theurgy, or the summoning of demons.
The Golden Eagle Standard of a Roman Legion was a powerful sacred pagan artifact carried by every Roman Legion. The Golden Eagle is the symbol of Rome.
The Golden Dragon is the symbol of Imperial China. The Communists reject this symbol.
The Golem ("unshaped material") is a Jewish spirit that animates a clay statue. The word is Biblical and possibly referred to "uncivilized" people or "undeveloped" land.
Goliath's Sword was given to David after their legendary fight ~1000 BCE by a priest named Ahimelech. It was probably an extra large version of a bronze age or iron age sword - like a large Xiphos - double edged, made of bronze or iron (but not steel) and about two feet long (maybe up to three feet, it was a giant's sword after all - but if so, it would be correspondingly heavier - a fat blade, not like a three foot spatha or arming sword).
Gorgons were three daughters of Echidna and Typhon. Medusa was one of the three who was raped by Poseidon in Athena's temple and was cursed for it with snake hair and a face that turns men to stone.
Gram is a Nordic legendary sword that Odin stuck in a tree named Barnstokkr. Only Sigmund could pull it out. When Sigmund fought Odin in disguise, Odin shattered it. It was reforged by Sigmund's son to kill Fafnir the dragon.
The Green Man is another name for Cernunnos
Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus or Gregory the Miracle-Worker (Ancient Greek: Γρηγόριος ὁ Θαυματουργός, Grēgórios ho Thaumatourgós; c. AD 213 – 270), also known as Gregory of Neocaesarea, was a Christian bishop of the 3rd century. He has been canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
Gremlins are a fairly young type of spirit known for sabotaging mechanical devices, especially airplanes.
Gremory, the fifty sixth entry in the Ars Goetia, is a strong Duke (or Duchess?) of Hell that governs twenty-six legions of demons. He tells all things past, present and future, about hidden treasures, and procures the love of women, young and old, but especially maidens. He is depicted as appearing in the form of a beautiful woman with the crown of a duchess tied around her waist, and riding a camel.
Grendel and his mother were monsters who Beowulf slew. His mother's blood was caustic enough to melt iron.
The Grettis Saga is a historical Nordic saga.
Grid is the Nordic Jotunn who gave Thor his magical gauntlets, belt and staff.
Grídarvöl is a staff that was given to Thor by Grid at the same time he received his magical belt and gauntlets.
Grigori is a Slavic name for the Watchers in the Books of Enoch.
Grimoires are magical texts used in Ceremonial High Magic.
Gris-gris are amulets made by Voudoun.
Grógaldr or The Spell of Gróa is the first of two poems, now commonly published under the title Svipdagsmál, found in several 17th-century paper manuscripts with Fjölsvinnsmál. In at least three of these manuscripts, the poems are in reverse order and separated by a third eddic poem titled Hyndluljóð. Gróagaldr is one of six eddic poems involving necromantic practice. It details Svipdag's raising of his mother Groa, a völva, from the dead. Before her death, she requested him to do so if he ever required her help; the prescience of the völva is illustrated in this respect. The purpose of this necromancy was that she could assist her son in a task set him by his cunning stepmother. Svipdag's mother, Gróa, has been identified as the same völva who chanted a piece of Hrungnir's hone from Thor's head after their duel, as detailed in Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. There, Gróa is the wife of Aurvandil, a man Thor rescues from certain death on his way home from Jötunheim. The news of her husband's fate makes Gróa so happy, she forgets the charm, leaving the hone firmly lodged in Thor's forehead.
Gryphons are legendary animals that are eagle in front and lion in the rear. They represent dominion over all birds and beasts, being made partially of the king of the birds and partially the king of the beasts. They are said to come from central Eurasia. The offspring of a gryphon and a mare is a hippogriff.
Gullinbursti ("Gold Bristles") is Frey's golden mechanical boar. It can be ridden and goes faster than a horse. It can also fly.
Gungnir ("swaying one") is Odin's spear. Gungnir was made by the sons of Ivaldi (4 dwarfs).
Gwi is the Khoisan sky god.
Gwydion ("prophetic one") is a mythical figure in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogian.
Duke Gusion is a strong Great Duke of Hell and the eleventh Demon in the Ars Goetia. He rules over forty legions of demons. He tells all past, present and future things, shows the meaning of all questions that are asked to him, reconciles friends, and gives honour and dignity. He is depicted as a baboon or according to some, in the form of a Xenophile [?].
Haagenti is the forty eighth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a Great President of Hell, ruling thirty-three legions of demons. He makes men wise by instructing them in every subject, transmutes all metals into gold, and changes wine into water and water into wine. Haagenti is depicted as a big bull with the wings of a griffin, changing into a man under request of the conjurer.
Hades is the Greek god who personifies the underworld.
Hades' Dogskin Cap of Darkness was a hat of invisibility owned by Hades and loaned out to heroes.
Hae-Nim is the Korean sun goddess.
Hafgusa was a Nordic sea monster.
Hags are Germanic spirits that look like elderly women.
The Hamsa, also known as the Hand of Mary, Hand of Miriam or Hand of Fatima, is a symbolic hand with an eye in the palm. It is a protective amulet that wards off the Evil Eye.
Hanging by the neck is the tradition method of Anglo Saxon sacrifice. It probably is related to the symbol of the Hanged God, Odin (called Woden by the Anglo-Saxons).
Hayyot ("Living Creature") is a type of four or six winged divine creature that is mentioned in Ezekiel and Revelation.
The Heavenly Host is God's Angelic army in Jewish tradition. Samael is one member.
Hecate is a Greek goddess, most often shown holding two torches or a key, and in later periods depicted in triple form. She was variously associated with crossroads, entrance-ways, dogs, light, the Moon, knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants and sorcery.
Hecatonchires are giants of Greek legend who had one hundred hands and hurled a hundred stones at a time. It is possible that these represent a stone throwing mob of people - the ancestor to heavy infantry throwing javelins or axes before melee.
Hecuba is a black dog and companion of the goddess Hekate of Greek legend. She was formerly a Queen but was transformed after she murdered a Thracian King and was sentenced to death by stoning.
Hedj-Wer is an Egyptian baboon god.
Heimdallr is the Nordic god who guards the gates to Asgard. He blows his horn Gjallarhorn when Ragnarok arrives, but until then he keeps watch while drinking fine mead in his dwelling Himinbjörg, located where the burning rainbow bridge Bifröst meets heaven. He owns the golden-maned horse Gulltoppr, has gold teeth, and is the son of Nine Mothers. Heimdallr is attested as possessing foreknowledge, keen eyesight and hearing, is described as "the whitest of the gods", Heimdallr is said to be the originator of social classes among humanity and once regained Freyja's treasured possession Brísingamen while doing battle in the shape of a seal with Loki. Heimdallr and Loki are foretold to kill one another during the events of Ragnarök. His sons are referenced in the beginning of Voluspa.
Heitsi-Eibib is a Khoisan ancestral hero.
Hel is the Nordic goddess of the underworld. The underworld itself was often called Hel, though Helheim specifically describes the underword (vs its ruler) with no ambiguity.
Helios is the Greek name for the Sun. Helios was considered one of the Titans. Romans knew him as Sol and briefly worshiped him as the One True God, Sol Invictus.
Hell, or the Hell of the Damned, is the English name for Gehenna. The name was taken from the Nordic word for the underworld.
Hephaestus is the crippled Greek god of smiths and the husband of Aphrodite.
Hera is the Greek goddess of marriage and queens.
Hermes is the Greek god of messengers and sorcery. Sometimes referred to as Hermes Trismegistus in Egyptian contexts.
Herne the Hunter is another name for Cernunnos, the Celtic god of the wild.
Hieracosphinxes are falcon headed lions found in Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Hippogriffs ("Horse-Griffon") are legendary beasts with the rear of a horse and the front of an eagle. They are the offspring of a mare and a male griffin. The first recorded mention of the hippogriff was made by the Latin poet Virgil in his Eclogues. In Orlando Furioso the English knight Astolfo journeyed to Ethiopia on a hippogriff to find a cure for Orlando's madness.
A Hogon is a village spiritual leader in the Dogon tribe of West Africa.
Homonculus is the (imaginary/spiritual) "little person" inside of sperm that grows into the fetus. Sorcerers believed they could "hatch" the homonculus without using the sperm to fertilize a woman's egg cell.
Horse Face is one of the two guardians of the underworld in Chinese mythology. Ox Head is the other.
Horse Sacrifice is an ancient Indo-European ritual.
Horus is the Egyptian falcon headed sky god of Lower (northern) Egypt. He is the son of Osiris (Bremner-Rhind Papyrus) and enemy of his uncle Set. His symbol is the Eye of Horus, also known as the wedjat eye. The city of Nekhen is sacred to him. As the sky god, the Sun and Moon were said to be his eyes. The Moon is less bright than the Sun because it is an artificial replacement for the eye Set gouged out when they fought.
Hrotti ("Thruster") is a magical sword that was in the hoard of Fafnir the dragon.
Hrunting ("Thrusting") was a legendary sword loaned to Beowulf by Unferth the Dane to fight Grendel's mother. Unfortunately it was unable to harm her. From the poem Beowulf: "a hilted weapon, a rare and ancient sword named Hrunting. The iron blade with its ill-boding patterns had been tempered in blood. It had never failed the hand of anyone who hefted it in battle, anyone who had fought and faced the worst in the gap of danger".
Huitzilopotchli is the god that the Mexicans sacrificed people to in the pre-Hispanic Mexican Empire. He is known as a hummingbird and as the Sun and is associated with the left side.
Humbaba was the Sumerian guardian of the Cedar Forest in the Epic of Gilgamesh. He was killed by Gilgamesh.
Hunab Ku is a Mayan name for the One True God.
Hungry Ghosts are Chinese spirits of ancestors who were either shamelessly selfish in life or neglected by their descendents in death. In the former case as a curse, in the latter as retribution, these ghosts are said to wander the Earth eternally hungry to the point of malevolence.
Hupia is a Taino (indigenous people of the Carribean) word that means ghost.
Huracán ("one legged"), often referred to as U K'ux Kaj, the "Heart of Sky", is a K'iche' Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at creating humanity. He also caused the Great Flood after the second generation of humans angered the gods. He supposedly lived in the windy mists above the floodwaters and repeatedly invoked "earth" until land came up from the seas.
The Hydra of Lerna was a water dragon with many regenerating heads. It was slain or defeated by Hercules.
Hydromancy is the Latin name for gathering mystical information from the study of bodies of water. This is one of the Seven Forbidden Arts in the Renaissance.
Hymir is the Jotunn father of the Nordic god Tyr. Possibly equivalent to Uranus/Cronus?
Hyperion is a Greek Titan and father of the sun, moon and dawn. Possibly the personification of light?
Iblis is the Islamic name for Satan (or "Shaitan"). In Islam, Iblis is said to be a Jinn. He refused to bow to Adam when Allah commanded it. Iblis felt he was better than Adam because Adam was made of clay and Iblis of fire. Allah cast Iblis out of Paradise but gave him until Judgement Day to tempt humans and Jinn. Qu'ran Sura 7 (Al A'raf) ayat 11-12
Ifrit are a type of Jinn.
Ikelos is a prophetic dream spirit which appears in animal form.
Ilabrat is the Sumerian god who is attendant and minister of state of the chief sky god Anu.
Imams are a type of Muslim "priest" or "rabbi".
Imps are minor Germanic spirits with a mischievous personality.
Inanna is the Sumerian goddess of love, beauty, sex, desire, fertility, war, combat, and political power, equivalent to the Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian goddess Ishtar. She was also the patron goddess of the Eanna temple at the city of Uruk, which was her main cult center. She was associated with the planet Venus and her most prominent symbols included the lion and the eight-pointed star.
Incantations are verbally spoken spells.
Incubus is the name of a sexy male spirit that comes to women at night, giving them erotic dreams while draining their spiritual energy away. It is the male version of the succubus. Incubi can impregnate women with semen taken while in the form of succubi because they can shapeshift between the two genders.
Indra is the Hindu god of thunderstorms. He is the leader of the Devas.
Inti is the Incan sun god who is the son of Viracocha.
Invocation is Latin for calling gods to possess oneself for purposes of enlightenment or empowerment. Chinese boxers (kung fu fistfighters) used similar methods during the Boxer Rebellion.
Ipos is the twenty second Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is an Earl and powerful Prince of Hell who has thirty-six legions of demons under his command. He knows and can reveal all things, past, present and future. He can make men witty and valiant. He is commonly depicted with the body of an angel with the head of a lion, the tail of a hare, and the feet of a goose, less frequently in the same shape but with the body of a lion, and rarely as a vulture.
The Iron Eagle is the symbol of Germany.
Ishtar is the Semitic goddess of fertility, war and sexuality. She is the same being as Ashtar and Attar and was equated with Venus, Aphrodite and Lucifer. Her symbols were the lion, the horse, the sphinx, the dove, and a star within a circle. Pictorial representations often show her naked. She has been known as the deified evening star. Her centers of worship were Cyprus, Sicily, Sidon, Tyre and Biblos. She was often depicted on Sidonian coins as standing on the prow of a galley, leaning forward with right hand outstretched, being thus the original of all figureheads for sailing ships. She asked Gilgamesh to marry her; when he rejected her, she sent the Bull of Heaven to punish him, which he then killed.
Isis is an Egyptian mother goddess. She is a daughter of Nut and Keb (Bremner-Rhind Papyrus).
Islam ("Submission") is an originally Arab variation on Abrahamic monotheism which has spread throughout western Asia, north Africa and around the world. The word Islam means "submission to God". The prophet most revered in Islam is Mohammed who lived in Arabia during the European Dark Ages.
The Ismenian Dragon guarded a sacred spring near Thebes. It was killed by Cadmus with a hurled (or slung) stone.
Ixion was a god who seduced an illusionary Hera named Nephele and was punished by Zeus. The child of this union was the first Centaur.
The Jade Emporer is one of the Daoist representations of the First God. He was one of the Three Pure Ones.
Janus is a Roman god of beginnings and transitions and thereby of gates, doors, doorways, passages and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past. January is named for him.
Járngreipr are Thor's gauntlets, the "Iron Grippers", which he needs to properly wield his hammer Mjolnir. He received them from a Jotunn named Grid. They also allow him to handle red hot iron and throw Mjolnir in such a way that it will always return to his hand.
The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), is an ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters.
Jehova is a Roman way of writing YHWH.
Jerusalem is a city that is sacred to all three major branches of Abrahamism: Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
Jesuits are a Catholic tradition known for their selfless work ethic, exceptional educational accomplishments and secrecy and resistance to the Pope. The head of their order is sometimes referred to as the "Black Pope" because of his clothing and status.
Jiangshi are Chinese animated corpses who die far from home. They hop their way back to their home village at night so as to be buried there. This legend comes from the way monks used to transport corpses at night which looked like a line of hopping corpses.
Jinkininki are Japanese cannibalistic ghoul-like revenants.
Johannes Wier was a Dutch demonologist.
Jômjâêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Jorogumo ("Whore-Spider") are Japanese shapeshifting spider-women.
Jotnar is a name for Nordic "giants".
Jotunheim is the homeland of the Jotnar.
Jove is another name for Jupiter/YHWH. Instead of a Y and W, Romans sometimes wrote it as J and V, giving "Jehovah", or Jove.
Joyeuse was Charlemagne's sword.
The Juggernaut (Jagganath) is a Hindu god with an enormous, weighty wheeled shrine carrying his idol. The unstoppable wheeled vehicle led to the modern meaning of the word "Juggernaut" as an unstoppable moving object.
Juno is the Roman goddess of queens, marriages and the protectress of funds. She is the Roman version of Hera. The month of June is named after her.
Jupiter is the Roman god of rulership and the storm. His name means "Ju, the Father".
Jvarasura is the Hindu fever demon. He accompanies Shitala.
Ka is an Egyptian concept that describes a part of the soul.
Kabbalah is a tradition of Jewish Theurgy.
Kali ("Black Lady") is the Hindu goddess of destruction. She is depicted holding a human head and wielding a sword in two of her many hands. In her most famous myth she is summoned to drink the infinite drops of blood coming from an enemy god. Each drop of blood that hit the Earth would become another warrior so Kali drank every one.
Kami is the Japanese name for spirits.
Kappa ("River Child") are a Japanese water-turtle spirit likely inspired by the giant Japanese salamander. It lives in mountain rivers and streams and is very mischievous. However it is bound to an extreme code of courtesy and can be easily tricked. If a Kappa is bowed to, it will bow in return, and cause the water to spill out of the creature's head, disabling it. If it does not get water from its home river into its head in time it will die. This is the origin of the Koopa Troopas in the Mario Brothers series of games.
Kasa-Obake are Japanese umbrella spirits.
Kauha is a San (east African) trickster god.
Keb is the Egyptian Earth-god.
Kelpies are Scottish water-horse spirits.
Keres are the Greek personification of violent death.
Keto is a primordial sea goddess in Greek mythology, the daughter of Gaia and Pontus.
The Khalkotauroi were mechanical bronze bulls made my Hephaestus which could breathe fire.
Kharybdis is gigantic daughter of Poseidon who was chained to the sea-bed as punishment for a crime. Her inhalations form a massive whirlpool, a terror for the sailors travelling through the entrance to the Mediterranean.
Khepera is an ancient Egyptrian name for God in His role as Creator. It is mentioned in the Bremner-Rhind Papyrus.
Khonsu is the Egyptian Moon goddess. Part of her was used to replace Horus' eye which Set had gouged out.
Kilin are Chinese legendary beasts sometimes called "Chinese unicorns". They were possibly inspired by the Giraffe.
The Kishi is a two-faced demon in Angola. According to legend, a Kishi has an attractive human man's face on the front of his head and a hyena's face on the back. Kishi are said to use their human face, smooth talk and other charms to attract young women who they then eat with the hyena face.
Kiyohime is a Japanese dragon-woman.
Kobolds are small Germanic spirits associated with people and their occupations. The element cobalt is named for the Kobold because of the troublesome nature of cobalt-arsenic impurities in other mined substances.
Kokabiel is one of the leaders of the Watchers who lives in the cthonic underworld. He commands 365,000 spirits and instructs his fellows in astrology.
Kokytus is the underground river of wailing in Greek legend. It is one of five legendary rivers in Hades.
Koschei was a Slavic man who had the magical power to hide his soul away in an object and so was unkillable until the soul was found and released. He is an archetypical Slavic villain.
Kraken ("unwholesome") is a Nordic giant crab/octopus/squid monster.
Kujata is an Arab ox that stands on top of Bahamut, helping hold up the world.
Kur is the Sumerian name for the underworld. Kur is also the name of a primeval Babylonian dragon.
Kumogu are Dogon (West African) diviners.
Kusanage-no-Tsurugi ("Sword Cutting Grass", 草 薙 の 剣 ), formerly known as Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi ("Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven", 天叢雲剣) is a sword made in the middle of the first millenium (perhaps ~500) CE which is one of the Three Crown Jewels of Japan. It is said to have the power to control the wind. Perhaps this sword was used to summon the famous Kamikaze storm that defeated the Mongol invasion! It is of the Tsurugi design as the name shows, which means it was straight and double edged, possibly something like a Viking sword.
Kyang Go Karkar is the magical horse of King Gesar.
Laban was a Book of Mormon contemporary of Nephi in Jerusalem (c. 600 B.C.) who possessed a unique sword. "The hilt thereof was of pure gold, and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine, and the blade thereof was of the most precious steel" (1 Ne. 4:9). Nephi was "constrained by the Spirit" to kill Laban (1 Ne. 4:10). Among other things he had opposed the Lord's imperative to relinquish the plates and had "sought to take away" Nephi's life (1 Ne. 4:11). Using Laban's "own sword," Nephi slew him (1 Ne. 4:18), retained the sword, and brought it to the Western Hemisphere.
Ladon was a dragon sacred to Hera which guarded her golden apples. Hercules killed Ladon with a spear and Hera put him in the sky, coiled around Coeus (the Earth's axis of rotation), as the constellation Draco.
Laelaps was a Classical dog that always caught its prey.
Lamashtu is Pazuzu's rival.
Lamia was a queen of Libya in Greek mythology. She was one of Zeus' many lovers and this brought the wrath of Hera who took her children from her. This led to Lamia becoming a cannibalistic monster who stole and ate other peoples' children.
A Lammasu is an Assyrian protective spirit with the body of a lion or bull, wings of an eagle and the head of a human.
Lampads are companions of Hecate, the Greek titan goddess of witchcraft and crossroads. They were a gift from Zeus for Hecate's loyalty in the Titanomachy. They bear torches and accompany Hecate on her night-time travels and hauntings. Some accounts tell of how the light of the Lampads' torches has the power to drive one to madness.
Lampagos are manticore like beasts.
Lares are benevolent Manes.
Larvae ("masks") are the Latin equivalent of the Chinese "Hungry Ghosts".
Lebe is the Dogon (West African) Earth god.
Legerdemain is the skill of sleight of hand used to create illusory mystical effects.
Lemure is another name for Larva.
Leprechauns are small Irish spirits which hide gold at the end of the rainbow.
Leraje is a mighty Great Marquis of Hell who has thirty legions of demons under his power. He is the fourteenth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He causes great battles and disputes, and makes gangrene wounds caused by arrows. He is depicted as a gallant and handsome archer clad in green, carrying a bow and quiver.
Leshies are Slavic tree spirits.
Lethe is the cthonic river of forgetfulness and oblivion, found in Hades in Greek legend. It is one of five such underground rivers.
The Leucrotta is a fantastic animal from Africa of amazing strength. It is said to imitate the human voice, to call men by name at night, and to devour those who approach it with the bony ridges it has instead of teeth. It is as brave as a lion, as swift as a horse, and as strong as a bull. It cannot be overcome by any weapon of steel. It is probably based on the hyena.
Leviathan is an old Semitic word for "enormous water animal". Usually it is used to describe whales or crocodiles. In Jewish mythology it is the archetype of the great water animal.
Ley Lines are lines of mystical "connectedness" between places which are very far apart.
Liberty is the Roman goddess of freedom. During the 1700s and 1800s she was used as a symbol for what Americans (and French) hold most sacred. Her statue is found in New York Harbor and on buildings in Washington D.C.
Lich is simply a word that means "corpse".
Lilith represents Adam's first wife, before Eve. She refused to live with Adam (i.e.civilization) and remained in the Natural State. Her children are often said to be a particularly malicious group of demons.
Limbo (Latin limbus, edge or boundary, referring to the "edge" of Hell) is a medieval Catholic speculative idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in Original Sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Limbo is not an official doctrine of the Catholic Church or any other Christian denomination. Medieval theologians, in western Europe, described the underworld ("hell", "hades", "infernum") as divided into four distinct parts: Hell of the Damned (which some call Gehenna), Purgatory, Limbo of the Fathers or Patriarchs, and Limbo of the Infants.
La Llorana is a Mexican ghost of a woman who drowned her children and was denied entry to Heaven until she found them again. Thus she is a Lamia like monster who is said to drown children. Her name means "the Weeping Woman".
Loa is the West African word for spirits.
Loki is a Nordic trickster god. He is associated with fire and often acts as an enemy to the other gods. At one point he was chained with venom dripping on him as punishment for his crimes.
Long Meg and her Daughters is a stone circle and sacred site in Cumbria, northwest England.
Longma is a Chinese dragon-horse. It is winged and scaled but otherwise like a horse.
Loricas ("Armor") are Catholic incantations of protection. They are particularly popular with Irish Catholics.
Louhi is a legendary Finnish witch and queen.
Loviatar is the blind Finnish goddess of disease.
Lu Dongbin's Sword is a legendary Chinese sword. Lu slew dragons and performed "freak acts" with his sword.
Lua ("destruction") is a Roman goddess who received the bloodied weapons of enemies destroyed in war. She was associated with Saturn.
Lucifer is a word that has been used in the translation of Isaiah 14:12. It is often translated instead as "morning star" (the planet Venus). This likely refers to an ancient Canaanite god named Attar who tried to usurp the throne of Baal Hadad but was inadequate.
Lucifuge Rofocale is the demon in charge of Hell's government by order of Lucifer.
Lugus ("Flash" - also known as Lugh) is a major Celtic god. He had a number of magical items of note.
The Lúin of Celtchar is a legendary Celtic flaming spear.
Luna is the Roman personification of the Moon. She is said to ride in a two horse chariot.
Lycanthrope ("wolf-man") is the Greek word for "werewolf".
Lycaon was a man who served Zeus human flesh as a test of the Storm Father's omniscience. Zeus punished him by turning him into a wolf and killing 49 of his 50 sons with lightning bolts.
Lyngbakr was a Nordic sea monster.
Maahes is an Egyptian god. He is the son of Sekhmet and is known as the "Lion Prince".
Maat is the Egyptian god of order and wisdom. In Proverbs where "wisdom" is mentioned it is likely that the Egyptian original had the name of the god Maat. Seems to have some similarities to Minerva/Athena.
Macha ("the Plains") Redmane is a Celtic goddess associated with war, horses and sovereignty.
Magical Staves are Nordic mystical symbols.
Magicians, or Magi are Persian (Iranian) astrologers. They read the stars to gather mystical information. These were the "Wise Men from the East" who came to Bethlehem to honor Jesus. These Iranian Magi were the ones who named Jesus "King of the Jews", the phrase that eventually led the Jewish community to turn him in to the Romans - the Jewish community did not want to be blamed for rebelling against Caesar who they acknowledged as their ruler. Simon Magus came from this tradition or so his name suggests.
Maia is a Greek goddess. She is the daughter of Atlas and the mother of Hermes. The month of May might have been named after her.
Makara is a legendary Vedic (Hindu) water animal something like a crocodile.
The Malleus Magnificarium is a book written by monks which claims to describe the ways of witches. It was written in 1486.
Malphas is the thirty ninth Demon listed in the Ars Goetica. He is a mighty Great President of Hell, having forty legions of demons under his command. He builds houses, high towers and strongholds, throws down the buildings of the enemies, can destroy the enemies' desires or thoughts (and/or make them known to the conjurer) and all what they have done, gives good familiars, and can bring quickly artificers together from all places of the world. Malphas accepts willingly and kindly any sacrifice offered to him, but then he will deceive the conjurer. He is depicted as a crow that after a while or under request changes shape into a man, and speaks with a hoarse voice.
Malthus is an Earl of Hell and the thirty eighth Demon listed in the Ars Goetica. He commands 26 legions of demons and is said to have a rough voice when speaking. He is often depicted in the shape of a stork. Malthus builds towers and fills them with ammunition and weapons, an armorer of sorts. He is also said to send his legions into battle, or to places designated by higher commanding demons.
Mama Killa, in Incan mythology, was one of the daughters of Viracocha.
Mama Sera is the Incan goddess of grain (maize).
Mammon is a Semitic word that means "money" or "wealth". It is personified in the New Testament as a false god who represents greed. Mammon is probably the Third Horseman of the Apocalypse.
Manannán is a Celtic sea god.
Mandrake is a plant with strong poisonous drugs in the root, which sometimes looks like a person. According to myth the mandrake root was a person and would emit a deathly scream when uprooted, killing all living people and animals in hearing range. This plant was considered very magically potent.
Manes are cthonic ghosts from Roman tradition. They were often offered sacrifices, possibly by burial.
Mani is the Nordic name for the Moon.
Manticore is a Persian monster whose name means "man-eater". It is said to have a man's head, the mouth open to the ears with three rows of shark like teeth, and a scorpion-like tail that could hurl arrow like projectiles. This legend is most likely based on the tiger.
The Mantyger is a mythic beast unrelated to the manticore. It is probably based on the baboon.
Marbendlar are Nordic merfolk.
Marchosias (name means 'Marquis'), the thirty fifth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia, is a powerful Great Marquis of Hell, commanding thirty legions of demons. He is a strong and excellent fighter and very reliable to the conjurer, giving true answers to all questions. Marchosias hoped after one thousand and two hundred years to return to heaven with the non-fallen angels, but he is deceived in that hope. He is depicted as a wolf with a man's form as well as a griffin's wings and a serpent's tail, that under request changes shape into a man.
Marduk is the patron god of Babylon. Over time he rose to the head of his pantheon.
Mares, or Night-Mares, are malignant spirits that sit on the chests of sleeping people, making it hard to breathe.
Marids are a type of Djinn associated with the sea.
Mars is the Roman personification of war. The cross, symbolic of the spokes of war-chariot wheels, is one of his symbols. Jesus was sacrificed to Mars. Greece knew him as Ares. March is named after him because early Spring is the traditional time for war. The symbol for "maleness" is his symbol - a stylized spear and shield. Mars is probably the Second Horseman of the Apocalypse.
Martyrdom is a strategy used by Abrahamic religions in which individual believers allow others to kill them in order to glorify their religion. It is extremely effective. People die but their spirits live on...
Masamune Katanas are Japanese swords made by the greatest of Japanese legendary smiths Masamune. ~1300 CE.
Matrona is a Celtic mother goddess.
Mazu is a Chinese goddess of the sea who protects fishermen and sailors.
Mecca is one of the sacred cities of Islam. It is the city that all the pagan temples were located in before Muhammed converted the population to Islam.
Medea was an sorceress in the Mediterranean in ancient times. It was said that hatred was central to her powers.
Medina is another sacred city of Islam.
Medusa was one of the Gorgon sisters who slept with Apollo in Athena's temple. For punishment, Athena turned Medusa into a hideous snake haired monster which turned to stone all that gazed upon her. She was eventually slain and her head merged with the Aegis shield, giving it the power to petrify.
Megingjörð is Thor's magical "Belt of Power", given to him by Grid. It doubles his strength, assisting him in wielding Mjolnir.
Meg of Meldon was a witch who lived in the early 1600's.
Melek Taus is the Yazidi Peacock Angel and ruler of the world. He shares some similarities to Lucifer the fallen angel and so Yazidis are considered devil worshippers by some Sunni fanatics e.g. ISIS/Daesh.
Melinoë (Μηλινόη) is a chthonic nymph or goddess invoked in one of the Orphic Hymns and propitiated as a bringer of nightmares and madness. The hymns, of uncertain date but probably composed in the 2nd or 3rd century AD, are liturgical texts for the mystery religion known as Orphism. In the hymn, Melinoë has characteristics that seem similar to Hecate and the Erinyes.
Melissae are honey-bee nymphs.
Mephistopholes ("Destoyer-Liar") is a Germanic devil. He is summoned by Faust in the legend for the purpose of buying his soul in the classic "deal with the Devil". Unlike some well known spirits and devils, this one is only a few hundred years old, dating from the Renaissance.
Mephit is a Hebrew word that means "Destroyer".
Mercury is the Roman god of messengers and sorcery.
Meretseger ('She Who Loves Silence') is an Egyptian cobra goddess and patron of the Theban Necropolis. She is associated with a mountain that overlooks the Valley of the Kings.
Merrow are Gaelic merpeople.
Metatron ("The Measurer") is an archangel. The name Metatron is not mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, nor is it mentioned in the early Enoch literature. Although Metatron is mentioned in a few brief passages in the Talmud, he appears primarily in mystical Kabbalistic texts within the Rabbinic literature. In that tradition, he is the highest of the angels and serves as the celestial scribe or "recording angel". According to Jewish apocrypha, Metatron is the name Enoch received, after his transformation into an angel. The book of Genesis (5:24) is often cited as evidence of Enoch's bodily ascension into heaven: "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him."
The Methodist Church is a Protestant church that during the First Great Awakening tended to have a "New White" congregation.
Metrical charms are historic Anglo Saxon spells. Twelve are known to exist: Æcerbot (improve farmland fertility), Wid Dweorh (unknown, possibly cure fever and insomnia), Against a Wen (cure/remove cyst or skin blemish), A Journey Charm (a Christian prayer asking for God's blessing), For a Swarm of Bees (protect from bees), For Loss of Cattle (three variations, finds lost cows), For Delayed Birth (induce labor), For the Water-Elf Disease (cure pale and ill-looking nails and watery eyes), Nine Herbs Charm (cure infection with herbs), Wið færstice (cure for sudden pain)
Michael is an Archangel.
Michael Scott was a famous medieval Wizard.
Michael's Ring could control demons. It was entrusted to Solomon by the archangel Michael.
Mictlantecuhtli is a Mexican god of the underworld.
Midas was a legendarily greedy king who was cursed to turn all he touched into gold.
Midgard ("Middle-Earth") is the Germanic name for the lands inhabited by humans mid-way between Niflheim, the frozen land in the north, and Muspelheim, the fiery land in the south. Interestingly the name means the same as does the name of the Mediterranean.
Migo ("Wild Man") is another name for the Yetis of the Himalayas. In Persian it means "Shrimp". H.P. Lovecraft combined these two ideas when he included Mi-Go in his fiction.
The Spring of Mimir is said to lie beneath the root of Yggdrasil in the land of the Frost Jotnar. Its waters provide wisdom.
Mimung is a legendary English sword forged by Wayland the Smith.
Min is the Egyptian god of fertility. He can be identified by his erect penis and his flail. He is the son of Isis and Osiris.
Minerva is the Roman name for the goddess the Greeks call Athena.
The Minotaur ("Minos' bull") was a bull headed man imprisoned in the Labyrinth. He was the son of the Cretan Bull and Minos' wife Pasiphae. Theseus killed him.
Mirror armor is a primitive type of plate armor that was said to reflect the Evil Eye.
Mistilteinn is a Nordic magic sword that would never go blunt. Hrómund won it from the witch-king Þrainn.
Mithras is a Persian (Parthian) war god that was became popular rival to Christianity among the Roman legions in the early centuries CE.
Mixcoatl ('Cloud Serpent') is a Mexican god of the hunt. He may be the same as the Tlaxcalan god Camaxtli. He is represented with a black mask over his eyes and distinctive red and white “candy-cane stripes” painted on his body. In addition, Mixcoatl can usually be distinguished by his hunting gear, which includes a bow and arrows and a net or basket for carrying dead game.
Mjolnir is the hammer of Thor, the Nordic god of the lightning strike. It was forged with a head intended for a two handed hammer, but the haft was accidentally made too short. However Thor can wield it in one hand using his magical gloves and belt.
Mnemosyne is a Greek Titan and mother of the Muses.
The Moirai are the Greek name for "the Fates", three women who personified destiny: Clotho the spinner, Lachesis the measurer, and Atropos the wielder of the shears of death.
Moloch ("King") is a god of Canaan and the Phoenicians (i.e. Ammonites). He is known for demanding child sacrifice through flames. His worship is specifically condemned in the Old Testament books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus. Some legends refer to a metal statue of Moloch used for sacrifice in the same manner as the Brazen Bull; some of these legends call him Cronus.
Monopods are a Greek legendary species or race of people with only one leg and one huge foot who were said to live in India. When they slept, they used their foot as an umbrella to shade them. These people were featured in C.S. Lewis' fantasy novel The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
Monsignor is a rank or title given to exceptional Priests to honor them in the Catholic Church.
Morax (Latin for 'that which delays or stops') is a Great Earl and President of Hell, having thirty-six legions of demons under his command. He is the twenty first Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. Morax teaches Astronomy and all other liberal sciences, and gives good and wise familiars that know the virtues of all herbs and precious stones. He is depicted as a big bull with the face of a man.
Morrigan is a Celtic crone goddess.
Mummies are Egyptian corpses that have been carefully, ritualistically preserved. The intent of preservation is for eventual re-use by the dead person's spirit...
Muramasa Katanas were forged by the legendary smith Muramasa. "They were popularly believed to hunger for blood and to impel their warrior to commit murder or suicide." ~1500 CE
Murmur is a Great Duke and Earl of Hell, and has thirty legions of demons under his command. He is the fifty fourth entry in the Ars Goetia. He teaches Philosophy, and can oblige the souls of the deceased to appear before the conjurer to answer every desired question. Murmur is depicted as a soldier riding a Vulture or a Griffin, and wearing a ducal crown. Two of his ministers go before him making the sound of trumpets. 'Murmur' in Latin means noise, whisper, murmur, and the sound of the trumpet.
Muses are Greek goddesses of the arts. There are nine: Clio, Thalia, Erato, Euterpe, Polyhymnia, Calliope, Terpsichore, Urania, and Melpomene.
Muspelheim is the Germanic name for a land of fire in the south where Surtr the black Jotunn comes from. This is most likely referring to the Sahara desert in Africa which is south of Scandanavia where Germanics come from.
Myiagros is a Greek title that means "he who chases away flies". It means the same thing as the phrase "lord of the flies" - Beelzebub.
Naamah is a succubus associated with divination and childhood epilepsy (Zohar).
Naberius is said to be the most valiant Marquis of Hell, and has nineteen legions of demons under his command. He is the twenty fourth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He makes men cunning in all arts, but especially in rhetoric, speaking with a hoarse voice. He also restores lost dignities and honors. Naberius appears as a three-headed dog or a raven. He has a raucous voice but presents himself as eloquent and amiable. He teaches the art of gracious living. He is depicted as a crow or a black crane. It is unclear if there is an association with the Greek Cerberus.
Nachzehrer is a type of Germanic cannibalistic revenant.
Naegling ("Nail") is a sword Beowulf used to fight a dragon. Unfortunately it broke. In medieval German messer swords, the "nail" is a third quillon (crossbar) protecting the hand.
Naga are a type of Hindu snake-person spirit.
Naghlring is a Nordic legendary sword.
Naiads are Greek freshwater nymphs.
In Japanese mythology, the Namazu (鯰) or Ōnamazu (大鯰) is a giant catfish who causes earthquakes. He lives in the mud under the islands of Japan, and is guarded by the god Kashima who restrains the catfish with a stone. When Kashima lets his guard fall, Namazu thrashes about, causing violent earthquakes.
Nanook is the Inuit (Eskimo) god of polar bears.
Nasr is a Semitic god mentioned in Quran 71:23.
Neb-er-tcher is an Egyptian god whose name means "Lord of the Uttermost Limit". He is possibly the same as the Abrahamic God. He tells the story of Creation in the Bremner-Rhine Papyrus.
Necromancy is the Latin (Roman) name for conjuring dead spirits for the purpose of asking them questions. No zombies involved. The so-called "Witch of Endor" was a Biblical necromancer (though not necessarily a Roman one). "Spirit Mediums", people who hold seances and the like are necromancers. This is one of the Seven Forbidden Arts in the Rennaissance.
Neith is an Egyptian goddess of archery, warfare, hunting and childbirth. Her symbol is a stylised pair if crossed arrows under a shield. Similar to the Greek Artemis.
The Nemean Dragon was a giant serpent which guarded the sacred grove of Zeus in the Greek town of Nemea. During the War of the Seven Against Thebes it killed the infant Opheltes, and was destroyed by the heroes of the campaign.
The Nemean Lion was a magical lion in Nemea whose skin was impervious to weapons. Heracles killed the beast barehanded and took its pelt for his own armor.
Nephele is a cloud nymph that Zeus made look like Hera. The purpose of this was to catch Ixion seducing "Hera". Once this happened, Ixion was struck by lighting and chained to a burning wheel in the sky in punishment.
Nephilim ('the fallen ones') are a somewhat mysterious group of people listed in the Torah/Old Testament. See Genesis 6:4, Numbers 13:33, Ezekiel 32:27. Often translated as "giants" in many Bibles.
Nephthys is an Egyptian god. She is a daughter of Nub and Keb and the mother of Anubis.
Neptune is the Roman god of the sea and with Jupiter and Pluto one of the three rulers of the gods. He is equivalent to the Greek Poseidon.
Nergal ("Dunghill Rooster") is a Semitic god, patron of the city of Cuth, who is mentioned in 2 Kings 17:30. He is lion-like in appearance.
Niflheim is the Germanic name for a land of cold in the north. This probably is referring to the Arctic region.
Nike is the Greek goddess of victory and the daughter of the Titans Pallas and Styx as well as the sister of Kratos (Power), Bia (Force), and Zelus (Zeal). She assumes the role of the divine Charioteer, a role in which she is often portrayed in Classical Greek art.
The Nine Diseases are the sons of the Finnish goddess Loviatar and the wind. According to the version told in the Kalevala they are Pistos (consumption), Ähky (colic), Luuvalo (gout), Riisi (rickets), Paise (ulcer), Rupi (scab), Syöjä (cancer), and Rutto (plague). The ninth, a warlock and the worst of all, remains unnamed. He, the personification of envy, is banished by his mother to become the scourge of mankind
The Nine-Headed Bird (九頭鳥/九头鸟), also called the "Nine Phoenix" (九凤), is one of the earliest forms of the Chinese phoenix, worshiped by ancient natives in Hubei Province, which during the Warring States period was part of the kingdom of Chu (楚). Due to the hostile relationship between the Kingdom of Chu and its former overlord, the reigning Zhou Dynasty, the nine-headed bird, being the totem creature of the Chu people, was demonised as a result.
Ninja is another name for Shinobi.
Ninshubur is a goddess and Inanna's second in command in Sumerian mythology.
Níðhöggr is a Nordic dragon of the underworld which eternally gnaws at the roots of the world tree Yggdrasil.
A Nithing Pole is used by Wizards/Asatruar to curse people.
Nix are Germanic water spirits.
Nommo is the name of the Dogon (West African) water god. It is also the name of his children, the merfolk.
The Norns are the Nordic Fates.
Nosferatu ("Repugnant") is a modification of a Romanian word that is used to refer to the Devil.
Nothung is a legendary Nordic sword.
Notus is the Greek god of the south wind.
Nurikabe are Japanese creatures that mimic walls.
Nut is the Egyptian Sky-goddess.
Nüwa is a Chinese goddess who is said to have created humanity.
Nyami Nyami is a river dragon god of the Zambezi River in Africa.
Nyanbe-a-weh is a god of the Sarpo tribe in West Africa and formerly the patron god of General Butt Naked of Liberia. He demands human sacrifices, cannibalism and the wearing of women's clothing by his warriors.
Nymphs are Greek spirits with the form of young, beautiful maidens. They are typically associated with nature.
Nymphae Avernales ("Infernal Nymphs") are the Roman name for the Lampads.
Oceanus is the Greek Titan who is the personification of the open Atlantic Ocean.
Odin is the Nordic god of inspired mania. He is head of the Nordic pantheon. Rome associated him with Mercury. Wednesday is named after him. Snorri said he was once a human leader from Asia who was deified. There are parallels between Jesus and Odin.
Ofannim are a type of six winged Angel.
Ogres are the French name for strong, brutal, hairy human-like creatures that eat human flesh. The same creature is known in Italian as Orco and Old English as Orcneas. These are what inspired Tolkein's Orcs. This creature descended from or serves the Roman god Orcus, punisher of broken oaths. Perhaps the Ogre is a human who broke an oath and was cursed by Orcus to become a savage cannibal.
Oladevi is the Hindu goddess of cholera and companion of Shitala.
The Old Man of the Mountain was the leader of the Shi'ite Assassins.
The Old Night Scather is a dragon mentioned in Beowulf. He has great age; is winged, fiery, and reptilian in form; lives in a stolen barrow within which he lies on his hoard; is disturbed by a theft; and takes violent airborne revenge on the lands all about. This dragon is the inspiration for Smaug in The Hobbit.
The Olympics are a Greek pagan festival celebrating athleticism in honor of the Twelve Olympians.
Olympus is the mountain that the twelve Greek gods live on.
Oni are a type of Japanese supernatural monster spirit.
Onryo are a type of Japanese revenant.
Ophanim are wheel like angels.
Orc is an Anglo or Italian name for what the French call Ogres; cannibalistic oath breakers who honor Orcus.
Orco is a sea monster mentioned in Orlando Furioso.
Orcus is the Roman god of the broken oath. He is patron to Orcs, Ogres and Warlocks. He is a devil ("slanderer") in that he represents people whose word is worthless.
Orias, the fifty ninth Demon in the Ars Goetia, is a Great Marquis of Hell, and has thirty legions of demons under his command. He knows and teaches the virtues of the stars and the mansions of the planets; he also gives dignities, prelacies [?], and the favor of friends and foes, and can metamorphose a man into any shape.
Orobas ("incense") is the fifty fifth entry in the Ars Goetia. He is a powerful Great Prince of Hell, having twenty legions of demons under his control. He gives true answers of things past, present and to come, divinity, and the creation of the world; he also confers dignities and prelacies, and the favour of friends and foes. Orobas is faithful to the conjurer, does not permit that any spirit tempts him, and never deceives anyone. He is depicted as a horse that changes into a man under the conjurer's request.
Orthrus was a two headed dog born to Echidna and Typhon in Greek myth. He was Cerebrus' brother. Orthrus died guarding Geryon's herd of cattle from Heracles.
Ose ("the mouth",or perhaps "the hater") is a Great President of Hell, ruling three legions of demons. He is the fifty seventh Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He makes men wise in all liberal sciences and gives true answers concerning divine and secret things; he also brings insanity to any person the conjurer wishes, making him/her believe that he/she is the creature or thing the magician desired, or makes that person think he is a king and wearing a crown, or a Pope. Ose is depicted as a leopard that after a while changes into a man.
Osiris is the Egyptian god of mummies and the afterlife. He was killed by Set but fathered Horus posthumously. He is the son of Nut and Keb.
Ox Head is one of two underworld guardians in Chinese mythology. Horse Head is the other.
Pachamama was one of the daughers of Viracocha in Incan mythology.
Paidia is the Greek goddess of play and amusement. She is one of Aphrodite's companions.
King Paimon (also Paimonia, Paymon) is the ninth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is one of the Kings of Hell, more obedient to Lucifer than other kings are, and has two hundred legions of demons under his rule. He has a great voice and roars as soon as he comes, speaking in this manner for a while, until the conjurer compels him and then he answers clearly the questions he is asked. When the conjurer invokes this demon he must look towards the northwest, for there is where he has his house, and when Paimon appears he must be allowed to ask what he wishes and be answered, in order to obtain the same from him. Paimon teaches all arts, philosophies and sciences, and secret things; he can reveal all mysteries of the Earth, wind and water, what the mind is, and where it is, and everything the conjurer wants to know, gives good familiars, dignities and confirms them, binds men to the conjurer's will. If Paimon is cited alone, some offering or sacrifice must be done, and he will accept it; then two kings called Beball (Bebal or Labal) and Abalam (Abalim) will go to him together with other spirits, often twenty-five legions; but these other spirits do not always come unless the conjurer call upon them. Paimon is depicted as a man with an effeminate face, wearing a precious crown, and riding a dromedary. Before him often goes a host demons with the shape of men, playing trumpets, cymbals, and any other sort of musical instruments.
Paladins were French Catholic knights in the service of Charlemagne during the Dark Ages in Europe.
Pallas was a Titan who was accidentally killed by Athena. Nike was her daughter. After her death, Athena took on the name Pallas herself as Pallas Athena.
Pananggalan are southeast Asian vampire women who can detach their head and guts from the body and fly around in this form.
Pandemonium ("All Demons") is the capital city of Hell in the famous novel Paradise Lost.
Panlong are Chinese water dragons.
Patara in Xanthos, Greece was an Oracle dedicated to Apollo.
Penia is the Greek goddess of poverty.
Papsukkal is an Assyrian messenger deity associated with Lammasu.
Paradise ("Sheltered Garden") in Abrahamic religion is where the souls of good people go when they die.
Pasiphae was the wife of the King of Minos and a sorceress. Her lust for the Cretan Bull led to her becoming the mother of the Minotaur.
Pastors are Priests who are in charge of a Parish.
Pax is the Roman goddess of peace.
Pazuzu, in Akkadian, Sumerian and Babylonian mythology, is the demon of the southwest wind known for bringing famine during dry seasons, and locusts during rainy seasons. Pazuzu was said to be invoked in amulets, which combat the powers of his rival, the malicious goddess Lamashtu, who was believed to cause harm to mother and child during childbirth. Although Pazuzu is, himself, an evil spirit, he drives away other evil spirits, therefore protecting humans against plagues and misfortunes. Pazusu is often depicted as a combination of diverse animal and human parts. He has the body of a man, the head of a lion or dog, eagle-like taloned feet, two pairs of wings, a scorpion's tail, and a serpentine penis. He is often depicted with his right hand pointing upward and left hand pointing down.
Pegasus is a winged horse in Greek legend that sprang from Zeus' brow at the same time Athena did, making them something like siblings. Bellerephon rode Pegasus when he slew Chimera.
Pele is the Hawaiian volcano goddess.
Peluda was a French monster or dragon, known as "the shaggy beast" because of its spine covered body.
Penemue is a Watcher who taught mankind the art of writing with ink and paper, the bitter and the sweet, and the secrets of wisdom. 1 Enoch 69.8
Percunnas ('Percussion', i.e. the striker) is the Lithuanian name for the Russian god Perun.
Persephone is the Greek queen of the underworld.
Perseus was the Greek hero who saved Andromeda from the sea dragon Cetus using Medusa's head.
Perun (the Striker) is the Russian name for the storm god and head of the pantheon. He represents the warrior elite and is worshipped from mountaintop fortresses.
Pharoahs were Egyptian god-kings in ancient times.
Phenex is a Great Marquis of Hell and the thirty seventh Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He has twenty legions of demons under his command. He teaches all wonderful sciences, is an excellent poet, and is very obedient to the conjuror. Phenex hopes to return to the Seventh Throne in Heaven after 1,200 years, but he is deceived in this hope. He is depicted as a phoenix, which sings sweet notes with the voice of a child, but the conjurer must warn his companions (for he is not to be alone) not to hear them and ask him to take a human shape, which the demon will do after a certain amount of time.
Phlegathon ("Flaming") is one of the five cthonic rivers in Greek myth.
Phobos is the lion headed Greek god of Fear (of violence and warfare). He is the twin brother of Deimos and son of Ares and Aphrodite.
The Phoenix is a legendary Greek bird of flame that dies in a burning pyre but is reborn from the egg found in the ashes.
Phorcys is the Greco-Roman consort of Ceto and the god of the dangers of the sea depths. He is the father of Medusa and the Sirens. His parents are Pontus and Gaia.
Pixies are British cthonic spirits. It is possible that they are the manes/ghosts of a pre-Celtic people.
The Pleiades, companions of Artemis, were the seven daughters of the titan Atlas and the sea-nymph Pleione born on Mount Cyllene. They are the sisters of Calypso, Hyas, the Hyades, and the Hesperides. The Pleiades were nymphs in the train of Artemis, and together with the seven Hyades were called the Atlantides, Dodonides, or Nysiades, nursemaids and teachers to the infant Bacchus. They once met Solomon (Testament of Solomon)
Pluto is the Roman god of the underworld. His name is related to buried wealth.
Pratyangira is a lion headed Hindu god associated with Shakti.
Polyphemus was the name of a Cyclops in Greek legend who was encountered by Odysseus.
The Pope is the spiritual successor to Caesar. Only the Pope can provide the Holy Roman Imperial crown to a would be ruler. Charlemagne knelt to the Pope and Saint Patrick was a Roman Catholic who worked for the Pope.
Poppets are dolls used to cast spells on others via the Laws of Sympathy (the doll looks like the target) and Contagion (real hair, blood etc from target used in the doll). While commonly called "Voodoo dolls" they are actually used in Wizardry.
Poseidon is the Greek god who rules the sea. His weapon is the Trident. He is known as the "Earth Shaker" and the god of horses. Neptune is his Roman equivalent.
Prometheus is a Greek Titan who in legend stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind. In punishment he was chained up at the mercy of a giant bird which tore out and devoured his liver every day, after it had regenerated from the last time it was torn out.
Prophasis is the Greek goddess of excuses.
In Greek mythology, Proteus (Πρωτεύς) is an early sea-god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea". Some who ascribe to him a specific domain call him the god of "elusive sea change", which suggests the constantly changing nature of the sea or the liquid quality of water in general. He can foretell the future, but, in a mytheme familiar to several cultures, will change his shape to avoid having to; he will answer only to someone who is capable of capturing the beast. From this feature of Proteus comes the adjective protean, with the general meaning of "versatile", "mutable", "capable of assuming many forms".
Ptah is the Egyptian creator god.
Purgatory is, according to Roman Catholic teaching, the state or place of purification or temporary punishment by which those who die with non-mortal sins and so in the state of grace are made ready for the Beatific Vision in Heaven.
Purson is a Great King of Hell and the twentieth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia, being served and obeyed by twenty-two legions of demons. He knows of hidden things, can find treasures, and tells past, present and future. Taking a human or aerial body he answers truly of all secret and divine things of Earth and the creation of the world. He also brings good familiars. Purson is depicted as a man with the face of a lion, carrying a ferocious viper in his hand, and riding a bear. Before him there can be heard many trumpets sounding.
Pyromancy is the Latin name for the practice of gathering mystical information by gazing into flames. This is
not about throwing fireballs. This is one of the Seven Forbidden Arts in the Rennaissance.
Python was Gaia's sacred earth dragon which guarded the oracle at Delphi. Apollo killed Python and hurled its corpse down into a crack in the Earth. The fumes from Python's decaying corpse inspired the prophecies given by the priestess at the oracle.
Quern-biter was the sword of Haakon I of Norway and his follower, Thoralf Skolinson the Strong, said to be sharp enough to cut through quernstones.
Quetzalcoatl was the Mexican name for the feathered serpent god.
Qi-gu is the Chinese goddess of toilets.
Ra is the Egyptian god of the sun.
Rabbis are Jewish religious experts.
Rafael is an Archangel.
Ragnorak is the great war at the end of the world in Norse mythology. The Norse gods will lose this war but Thor's son will inherit his father's strength, implying a continuation of the world in some form.
Raijen is the Shinto (Japanese) god of thunder. A variation on this character was used for a Mortal Kombat character.
The Rain Dance of Queen Modjadji, The Rain Queen of the Balobedu people is said to summon rain.
Rakshasa are a type of Hindu spirit. Their literary origins can be traced to Vedic sources through Hymn 87 of the tenth mandala of the Rig Veda. Here they are classified amongst the Yatudhanas, demonic creatures who consume the flesh of the humans.
Raktabija ("Blood Seed") was an enemy of the Hindu gods whose blood would spawn new warriors. He was defeated by Kali who licked up all his spilled blood.
Raktabat is the Hindu goddess of blood infections and a companion of Shitala.
Rama is a Hindu demigod or hero of legend.
Râmêêl is one of the leaders of the Watchers. In the Sibylline Oracles he is referred to as one of the five angels who lead the souls of men to judgement.
Râmîêl is one of the leaders of the Watchers according to the Book of Enoch. In Enoch he is listed separately from Râmêêl indicating they are not the same being.
Rangers are warriors who range over a large rural or wilderness area. Missile weapons are useful to such warriors but dual wielding is not especially associated with real world Rangers. Nor is nature magic (though it might be helpful) or Druidism required to be a Ranger. Or roundhouse kicks (Chuck Norris) or a royal heritage (Aragorn). But a horse helps a lot. The Mongol hordes were made up of Rangers.
Rasputin was a legendary Slavic mystic who was extraordinarily difficult to kill. He was advisor to the Tsarina of the Romanovs just before they were overthrown
Ratatoskr is the Nordic squirrel that carries taunts and insults up from Niohoggr at the roots of Yggdrasil and the eagle perched on top.
Raum is the fortieth Demon listed in the Ars Goetica. He is a Great Earl of Hell, ruling thirty legions of demons. He is depicted as a crow which adopts human form at the request of the conjurer. Raum steals treasures out of kings' houses, carrying them where he wishes, and destroys cities and dignities of men (he is said to have great dispraise for dignities). Raum can also tell things past, present and future, reconcile friends and foes, and invoke love.
Redcaps are murderous British soldier faeries known for using iron.
Refil is the sword of Regin.
Renenutet is an Egyptian harvest goddess.
The Book of Revelation is a prophecy made during the first few centuries C.E. which predicted the thousand year reign of Christ and the Saints in the form of the Catholic Church keeping order in Europe. It also predicts the Age of Imperialism which ended with "fire from heaven" i.e. nuclear and incendiary bombs from heavy bombers. The Beast was Caesar who demanded he be worshipped. The Beast from the Earth was the pagan Roman imperial cult. The time that was predicted in Revelation is now in the past.
A Revenant ("Returner") is a Latin word for a visible ghost or animated corpse that was believed to return from the grave to terrorize the living.
Rhea is Zeus' and Hera's mother.
The Rhodian Dragons were a giant dragon and its spawn which infested the Greek island of Rhodes. The beasts were destroyed by the hero Phorbas and the island freed.
Rhongomyniad was King Arthur's spear. ~400 CE
Ridill is a magical sword that was found in the hoard of Fafnir the dragon.
The Roc is a bird so enormous it preys on elephants.
Roland, or Orlando, was a particularly important Paladin.
The Roman Catholic Church is the worldwide Church, based in Rome, headed by the Pope, and made up of Priests, Bishops etc. It is the largest religion in the world. The Catholic (which means "universal" i.e. for everyone) Church has made it it's project to advise would be successors to Caesar's throne and thereby civilize them. Thus it emphasizes "works" - what people actually DO - in contrast to the rival doctrine of "faith only".
The Roman Cross is a modification of the swastika in which one spoke is lengthened so that it can be stuck in the ground. The "motion" lines on the outside of the cross are also left out because this cross was stationary. This is the cross that Jesus was crucified on as a sacrifice to Mars. However Jesus' faith co-opted the cross when he submitting to it in martyrdom.
Rome is the sacred homeland of all the Latin people. It is Saint Augustine's City of God.
Romulus and Remus were the legendary founders of Rome who were raised by a she-wolf.
Ronové is the twenty seventh Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is a Marquis and Great Earl of Hell, commanding twenty legions of demons. He teaches Rhetoric, languages, and gives good and loyal servants and the favour of friends and foes. He is described as a monster holding a staff, without detailing his appearance. He is also described as taker of old souls; often coming to earth to harvest souls of decrepit humans and animals near death.
Runes are Germanic written letters, originally carved into wands (instead of written on paper) that are also used to enchant objects. Odin is said to know the rune that can bring the dead back to life. Other runes are found on weaponry. For example, weapons had the Tyr rune - the rune for the Father in Heaven - on them two or more times in order to invoke Tyr for victory in battle. Runestones - immobile boulders with runes carved on them - were a very common use of runes. Presumably they created an aura in an area defined by the runes on the rock.
Rusalka are Slavic river mermaids.
Sabnock, forty third Demon listed in the Ars Goetia, is a mighty Great Marquis of Hell, who has 50 legions of demons under his command. He builds high towers, castles and cities, furnishing them with weapons, ammunition, etc., gives good familiars, and can afflict men for several days making their wounds and sores gangrenous or filling them with worms. Sabnock is depicted as a soldier with armor and weapons, the head of a lion, and riding a pale horse.
Sacamantecas are Spanish warlocks who harvest human fat.
The Sagas of the Icelanders are a group of important Nordic legends.
Saints originally were Christians who had been martyred by pagans. Sainthood is now an honorary title bestowed posthumously by the Catholic Church on exceptional individuals who were particularly pious.
Salamanders have long been thought to be associated with fire because they showed themselves when rotting wood was burnt. In reality they were fleeing the flames, but spiritually it was felt they were able to resist or destroy flames at will. They were considered to be a sort of tiny dragon. In the Renaissance they were declared the Elemental of Fire.
"Salamander Skin" clothing was woven from asbestos and was therefore resistant to fire.
Saleos (also Sallos and Zaleos) is the nineteenth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a mighty Great Duke (or Great Earl) of Hell, ruling thirty legions of demons. He is of a pacifist nature, and causes men to love women and women to love men. He is depicted as a gallant and handsome soldier, wearing a ducal crown, and riding a crocodile.
Samael is an important Archangel in Jewish tradition. He represents the Heavenly Host of God and is the Angel of Death. He is a grim but holy being of great significance. It is possible that some Kabbalists consider him to be a Fallen Angel like Lucifer. He is the "chief of Satans" (Deut. R. xi. 9; Jellinek, "B. H." i. 125), quite in the sense of "the prince of the devils" mentioned in Matt. ix. 34; but, on the other hand, he is "the great prince in heaven." (Pirḳe R. El. xiii., beginning), who rules over angels and powers (ib.; Martyrdom of Isaiah, ii. 2). As the incarnation of evil he is the celestial patron of the sinful empire of Rome, with which Edom and Esau are identified (Tan. on Gen. xxxii. 35; Jellinek, l.c. vi. 31, 109, etc.). He flies through the air like a bird (Targ. to Job xxviii. 7), and, while the ḥayyot and ofannim have only six wings, he has twelve, and commands a whole army of demons (Pirḳe R. El. xiii.)
Samsâpêêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Baron Samedi, whose name means "Baron Saturday", is the Voudou/Bokor loa (or god-spirit) who represents death. He is a West African version of the Grim Reaper. He is a cheerful cigar smoking party animal of a skeleton...
In Finnish mythology, the Sampo was a magical artifact of indeterminate type constructed by Ilmarinen that brought good fortune to its holder. When the Sampo was stolen, it is said that Ilmarinen's homeland fell upon hard times and he sent an expedition to retrieve it, but in the ensuing battle it was smashed and lost at sea.
Samyaza is a Watcher and one of the leaders of the fall from Heaven.
Sanshin are local mountain-tiger gods in Korea.
Santa Muerte is a death goddess worshipped by some pagan Mexicans. She is a sort of Grim Reaper type deity.
Sariel is a one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8) who taught mankind about the courses of the Moon.
Sarpanit is a goddess who is Marduk's consort.
Satan means literally "the enemy". Is is a title or description, not a name. According to the New Testament, Satan is also a devil/the Devil. In Dante’s Inferno, Satan is portrayed as a giant demon, frozen mid-breast in ice at the center of Hell. Satan has three faces and affixed under each chin are pairs of bat-like wings. As Satan beats his wings, he creates a cold wind which continues to freeze the ice surrounding him, and the other sinners in the Ninth Circle. The winds he creates are felt throughout the other circles of Hell. Each of his three mouths chews on Judas, Brutus, and Cassius. Dante illustrates a less powerful Satan than most standard depictions; he is slobbering, wordless, and receives the same punishments in Hell as the rest of the sinners.
Satarêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Saturn is the Roman name for the Greek sickle god Cronus.
Satyrs are Greek goat-men.
Satyrals are manticore like creatures.
Scapulomancy is the Latin name for reading the shoulder blades of ritualistically slaughtered animals. This is one of the Seven Forbidden Arts in the Rennaissance.
In Greek mythology, Scylla (Σκύλλα) was a monster that lived on one side of a narrow channel of water opposite its counterpart Charybdis. The two sides of the strait were within an arrow's range of each other—so close that sailors attempting to avoid Charybdis would pass too close to Scylla and vice versa. Scylla made her first appearance in Homer's Odyssey, where Odysseus and his crew encounter her and Charybdis on their travels. Later myth gave her an origin story as a beautiful nymph who gets turned into a monster.
The Second Horseman of the Apocalypse, War, wielded a sword and wore red. This represents the Roman Legions. In fact, this is probably Mars himself.
Seelie is a Celtic word for "happy and pleasant". Unseelie is clearly the opposite. These words were used to describe the Sidhe. "Seelie" is cognate with the word "silly" - they came from the same word originally.
Seir, seventieth entry in the Ars Goetia, is a Prince of Hell with 26 legions of demons under his command. He can go to any place on earth in a matter of seconds to accomplish the will of the conjurer, bring abundance, help in finding hidden treasures or in robbery, and is not a demon of evil but good nature, being mostly indifferent to evilness. He is depicted as a man riding a winged horse, and is said to be beautiful.
Se'irim are a type of Unclean Spirit in Jewish mysticism. They are goat-demons of the wilderness.
Sekhmet is the Egyptian goddess of war. She has the face of a lioness.
Selene is the Greek personification of the Moon.
Selkies are Scottish were-seals who are known to be very sexually attractive to humans.
Sêmîazâz is listed in the Book of Enoch as the leader of the 200 fallen angels who mated with humans.
Seraphim are a type of winged angel.
Seshat is the Egyptian goddess of writing and measurement.
Set, or Seth, is an ancient god of desert sterility from southern (or Upper) Egypt. His symbol is a strange animal that looks like a dog with square ears and a straight forked tail. Other heiroglyphs of animals are easily identifiable; it's not an elephant, or giraffe, dog or any number of other animals which is resembles because these all have other symbols which are obvious. Set is the brother and killer of Osiris, the god of mummies and the afterlife, and attempted rapist of his nephew (or brother - Bremner Rhind Papyrus) Horus. He is a son of Keb and Nut.
Seure was one of King Arthur's swords.
Sguaba Tuinne ("Wave Sweeper") is Lugh's magical boat.
Shades are the spirits of the buried dead, like Manes.
Shakti is the Hindu goddess of feminine creative power.
Shamans are people who interact with spirits. It is primarily a north Asian tradition but also exists in other parts of Asia and America.
Shamsiel, once a guardian of Eden as stated in the Zohar, served as one of the two chief aides to the archangel Uriel (the other aide being Hasdiel) when Uriel bore his standard into battle, and is the head of 365 legions of angels and also crowns prayers, accompanying them to the 5th heaven. In Jubilees, he is referred to as one of the Watchers. He is a fallen angel who teaches the signs of the sun.
Shango is a West African thunder god.
Sharur ("Smasher of Thousands") is a magical flying, talking mace that belongs to the god Ninurta.
Shax is a Great Marquis of Hell, forty fourth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia, and has power over 30 legions of demons on evil horses. He takes away the sight, hearing and understanding of any person under the conjurer's request, and steals money out of kings' houses, carrying it back to the people. He also steals horses and everything the conjurer asks. Shax can also discover hidden things if they are not kept by evil spirits, and sometimes gives good familiars, but sometimes those familiars deceive the conjurer. He should not be bothered too often. Shax is thought to be faithful and obedient, but is a great liar and will deceive the conjurer unless obliged to enter a magic triangle drawn on the floor. He will then speak marvellously and tell the truth. He knows when lies are told and uses these to teach lessons. He is depicted as a stork that speaks with a hoarse but subtle voice; his voice changes into a beautiful one once he entered the magic triangle.
Shen is a large Chinese legendary shellfish that is said to have powers of illusion and shapeshifting. It was associated with funerals.
Shebriri is a demon known in Jewish lore. He causes diseases of the eye. He can be banished by repeating his name over and over, subtracting part of the word each time e.g. "Shebriri Briri Riri Iri Ri". This is intended to make Shebriri disappear via the Law of Sympathy.
Shedu is another name for a Lammasu.
Shenlong ("Spirit Dragon") is a type of Chinese storm dragon.
Shesha is the King of Nagas. Vishnu rests upon him.
Shi-ites are Iranian Muslims. They are rivals to the Sunni Arabs.
Shinigame are Japanese death spirits.
Shinobi (also known as "Ninja") were Japanese medieval elite mercenaries from Iga famed for stealth. One of their techniques was to read the time from the level of dilation of cats' eyes.
Shinto is Japanese animism.
Shirime ("Butt-Eye") is a Japanese mythical creature with an eyeball in its anus.
Shirt-Wearers are honored, elite individuals in Lakota society.
Shiva is the Hindu goddess of destruction.
Shu is an Egyptian god representing air and dryness.
Shub-Niggurath is H.P. Lovecraft's twisted intepretation of the Semitic fertility goddess Ishtar, known as Venus to the Romans and Aphrodite to the Greeks. Her title, or one associated with her, is the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young. This is because eroticism leads to pregnancy and motherhood.
Shugenja were/are a type of Japanese monk or shaman.
Sidhe is a specifically Gaelic name for the "hidden people of the mounds".
Simurgh is another name for the Roc.
Sin-you are ferocious Chinese unicorn like creatures that have a profound hatred for lies and deceptions. Chinese rulers would in legend keep a sin-you to test whether people were telling the truth. If a person lied in the presence of the sin-you it would use its horn to skewer the liar through the heart.
Sirens are bird women whose song will lure sailors to their death on rocky cliffs. They are the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto and live on an unspecified island in the Mediterranean.
Sitala ("the cooling one") is the Hindu goddess of smallpox.
Sitra Akhra is a Jewish concept of a realm forsaken by God. It is very similar to the Christian Hell of the Damned.
Prince Sitri (also spelled Bitru, Sytry) is a Great Prince of Hell and the twelfth Demon in the Ars Goetia. He reigns over sixty legions of demons. He causes men to love women and vice versa, and can make people bare themselves naked if desired. He is depicted with the face of a leopard and the wings of a griffin, but under the conjurer's request he changes into a very beautiful man.
Sleipneir is Odin's eight legged horse.
Slender Man is a very young spirit that originated with an internet competition which has already inspired murder. It is depicted as an unnaturally tall, thin, faceless man in a suit.
Skalds are Nordic users of the supernatural power inherent in song, poetry and the like. They are similar to the Celtic Bards. Odin is patron of Skalds as well as the Runes (and Berserkers) making him the Germanic god of supernatural power.
Skidbladnir is Frey's folding boat, made by Dvergar.
Skull Towers were made by shamanistic Mongol conquerors to terrify and show dominance over conquered peoples.
Skylla is a monstrous sea-goddess whose body is ringed by carnivorous heads. She dwells in a cliffside cave opposite the whirlpool daemon Charybdis near the mouth of the Mediterranean.
Sol is the Roman and Nordic/Germanic name for the Sun. The Romans personified the Sun as a male Titan, equivalent to the Greek Helios; Nordics personified it as a female goddess. For a time he was worshipped as the One True God in the Roman Empire and was referred to with the title Sol Invictus.
Sorcery was a Roman divination technique which is known as "casting lots" in the Bible. Sorcerers would scatter objects on the ground and then analyze them often using a book for reference. It was something like the Chinese use of the I Ching. Tarot card reading, the Germanic practice of casting split branches and any number of other cultural practices are similar. Also known as Cleromancy.
Souls are a person's sense of self and ultimate identity. The Father in Heaven is God's soul. Souls are undetectable, unlike spirits.
Spectre (related to spectator, spectacle, inspect etc) is a Roman name for a spirit that is visible or otherwise can be perceived with ordinary senses.
Sphinxes are human headed (or animal headed) lions that are often associated with Egypt. There is a legendary statue of a Sphinx in Egypt.
Spiders were associated with the element of Air because they caught their food from the air in medieval and Renaissance European natural philosophy.
Spirits are personalities. The Heavenly Spirit is God's spirit. Books preserve spirits as do Bards and Skalds by reviving the personalities of people long dead for those still living. Necromancers also work with spirits. Perhaps spirits are what defines the supernatural realm.
Spriggans are Celtic spirits that can change size from tiny to giant.
Sprite is a variation on the word "spirit".
The Star of David (or Shield of David) is a mystical symbol used by many cultures which has been particularly embraced by Judaism.
The Steed of Abigor is a hell-horse made from the corpse of a horse from antedeluvial Eden.
Steropes is the name of a Greek cyclops.
Sterquilinus is the Roman god of feces. He appears in an episode of Beavis and Butthead with the slightly different name "Sterculius".
Stheno is the oldest of the three Gorgon sisters.
Stolas is the thirty sixth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is a Great Prince of Hell, commands twenty-six legions of demons, and teaches astronomy and the knowledge of poisonous plants, herbs and precious stones. He is also known as Stolos and Solas. He is depicted as either being a crowned owl with long legs, a raven, or a man.
Stone Circles were erected by pre-Celtic people in Western Europe. They likely had astronomical significance and/or acted as calendars.
Stregheria is an Italian-American sorcery tradition.
Strigoi are Romanian vampire-like revenants named after the Classical Strix.
Strix ("owl") are Classical evil bloodsucking owls.The earliest recorded tale of the strix is from the lost Ornithologia of the Greek author Boios, which is partially preserved in Antoninus Liberalis's Metamorphoses. This tells the story of Polyphonte and her two sons Agrios and Oreios (their father being a wild bear), who were punished for their cannibalism, like Lycaon, by being transformed into wild animals. Polyphonte became a strix "that cries by night, without food or drink, with head below and tips of feet above, a harbinger of war and civil strife to men". The first Latin allusion is in Plautus's Pseudolus, dated to 191 BCE, in which a cook, describing the cuisine of his inferiors, compares its action to that of the striges—i.e., disemboweling a hapless victim. Horace, in his Epodes, makes the strix's magical properties clear: its feathers are an ingredient in a love potion. Seneca the Younger, in his Hercules Furens, shows the striges dwelling on the outskirts of Tartarus. Ovid tells the story of striges attacking the legendary king Procas in his cradle, and how they were warded off with arbutus and placated with the meat of pigs, as an explanation for the custom of eating beans and bacon on the Kalends of June.
Styx is a river in Hades, said to originate near the Greek town of Feneos. Is is one of the five cthonic rivers in Greek legend and is associated with corrosion and hatred.
Succoth-benoth was a Babylonian god mentioned in 2 Kings 17:30
Succubi are malevolent spirits who come to sleeping men in the night in the form of a soul sucking sex partner, causing erotic dreams and poor health in the afflicted man. Women are plagued by a similar creature called the Incubus.
Sunnis are Arab Muslims. Islam came from Arabia.
Supay is the Incan cthonic god of Death.
Surtr is a black man from Africa with a flaming sword who will rise to power at the end of the world according to Nordic mythology.
Susanoo is the Shinto storm god. His appearance inspired the "Raiden" character in Mortal Kombat.
Suwa' is a Semitic god mentioned in Quran 71:23.
Suzaku is the Japanese name for the Vermillion Bird of the South.
Svarog is a Slavic god. He is the father of Dazbog.
Svarožič is a Slavic god associated with fire and war.
Swastikas are the original form of the Indo-European symbol for a four spoked wheel which is the type of wheel used in war chariots. It is an ethnic symbol of vehicular warfare used by a wide variety of Indo European cultures from England to India. The Celtic and Roman crosses are modifications of this symbol.
Sylph is the name for Air Elementals. The term originates in the Renaissance.
The Sylva Sylvarum is a book that claims to have a recipe for a magical potion.
A Synochitis is a stone used by Magi to bind spirits of the water so they may be interrogated.
Taba'et is a serpent that is said to be related to Tamiel the fifth Watcher.
Talos was a bronze giant which guarded the island of Crete, pelting passing ships with stones. He was slain by the Argonauts and the magic of the sorceress Medea.
Tamiel is the fifth Watcher leader listed in Enoch. He taught the children of men all of the wicked strikes of spirits, [the strikes of] demons, and the strikes of the embryo in the womb so that it may pass away (abortion), and [the strikes of the soul], the bites of the serpent, and the strikes which befall through the noontide heat, [which is called] the son of the serpent named Taba'et.
Taoism is a Chinese religion.
Taranis is the Celtic storm god.
Tarasque was a French river dragon tamed by Saint Martha. It had lion's head, six short legs like a bear's, an ox-like body covered with a turtle shell, and a scaly tail that ended in a scorpion's sting.
Tarnkappe is a Nordic cloak of invisibility.
Tartarus is the Greek name for the realm of magma underneath the underworld.
Tatsu is a Japanese dragon.
Taweret is the Egyptian hippo-goddess of pregnancy and childbirth.
Tefnut is an Egyptian god representing "the water above the firmament". In reality this region is outer space, a void, and not a watery region.
Tengri is the Mongol name for the Father in Heaven.
Tengu are a type of Japanese bird-man spirit associated with Shugendo, or Japanese Buddhist asceticism. They are descendants of the Chinese Tiangou.
Tenomei is a Japanese mythical humanoid creature whose eyes are on the palms of its hands.
Tepeyollotl ("Mountain Interior") is a Mexican god of earthquakes, mountains, jaguars and echoes.
The Testament of Solomon is a book about Goetia.
Tethys is a Titaness who is sister and wife to Oceanus. She raised Hera as a child. From her forehead sprout gray wings. She represents the source of fresh water springs that come from underground.
In Greek mythology, the Teumessian Fox was a gigantic fox that was destined never to be caught. It was said that it had been sent by Dionysus to prey upon the children of Thebes as a punishment for a national crime. Creon, the then Regent of Thebes, set Amphitryon the impossible task of destroying this beast. He discovered an apparently perfect solution to the problem by fetching the magical dog Laelaps, who was destined to catch everything it chased, to catch the Teumessian Fox. Zeus, faced with an inevitable contradiction due to the paradoxical nature of their mutually excluding abilities, turned the two beasts into stone. The pair were cast into the stars, and remain as Canis Major (Laelaps) and Canis Minor (Teumessian Fox).
Teutatis is a Celtic tribal god. He is often invoked by Asterix in the comic strip Asterix and Obelix.
Thalassa is a Greek Titan of the sea. She is Aphrodite's mother.
Thamaturgy is when holy prophets of the Abrahamic religions call upon God to work wonders. This is the tradition that "casts Divine spells" in fantasy games like Dungeons and Dragons. Elijah the prophet who called down fire on God's enemies was a Thamaturgist.
Thanatos is the Greek personification of peaceful death. He is probably the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse.
Thetis is a sea-nymph.
Theurgy is an originally Greek tradition in which the practitioners use ritual asking God to summon up invisible supernatural spirits. Jewish Kabbalah is a Theurgic tradition. Theurgy emphasizes using mystical ritual to become closer to God but there are also materialistic powers described in stories e.g. the Golem is animated by a Theurgistic spirit.
The Third Horseman of the Apocalypse, Famine, represented merchants, nobles and other wealthy people of the Classical world. Oil and wine represent luxury goods which are kept cheap unlike staple foodstuffs the peasants relied upon which rose in price dramatically.
Thor is the Nordic god of thunder. He wields the legendary hammer Mjolnir. Thursday is named after him.
Thoth is an Egyptian god with the head of an Ibis. He is married to Ma'at. Thoth is heavily associated with the arbitration of godly disputes, the arts of magic, the system of writing, the development of science, and the judgment of the dead.
Thrainn (Þrainn) was a Nordic witch-king of legend.
Thrudgelmir was Ymir's oldest son.
Thuận Thiên (順天, Heaven's Will) was the mythical sword of the Vietnamese King Lê Lợi, who liberated Vietnam from Ming occupation after ten years of fighting from 1418 until 1428. Lê Lợi then proclaimed himself king of the newly established Lê Dynasty. According to legend, the sword possessed magical power, which supposedly made Lê Lợi grow very tall. When he used the sword it gave him the strength of a thousand men, and the legend is often used to justify Lê Lợi's rule over Vietnam.
Thunderbird is the North American storm god. He is associated with the Bald Eagle and in legend killed all the dragons in the land.
Tiamat is a primal Babylonian salt-water goddess. She mixed with Abzu, the god of fresh water, to bring forth younger gods. She also bore dragons, merpeople and scorpion people. Her physical description in the Enuma Elish includes a tail, a thigh, "lower parts" (which shake together), a belly, an udder, ribs, a neck, a head, a skull, eyes, nostrils, a mouth, and lips. She has insides (possibly "entrails"), a heart, arteries, and blood.
Tiangou are a type of Chinese dog demon. They are the ancestors of Japanese Tengu.
The Tiger is the symbol of Korea. It is also a powerful symbol in India. Manticores are based on the tiger.
Tikoloshe are Zulu spirits in the form of small humanoids which can turn invisible. They are often sent by Bokor to harass their enemies.
Timorus is the Roman god of Fear.
Tinjis is the wife of Antaeus.
The Titanomachy was a war between the Titans and the Olympians in Greek mythology.
Titans in Greek myth are enormous godlike people who make up physical reality. For example, the Earth's axis of rotation was named Coeus the Titan in Greek myth. The first twelve Titans comprised the females Mnemosyne, Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea ("Ground", the Mother of Gods), and Themis and the males Oceanus ("Ocean"), Hyperion ("the High One"), Coeus (Sky's Axis of Rotation), Cronus (the Reaper), Crius, and Iapetus. A second set of Titans consisted of Hyperion's children Helios, Selene, and Eos; Coeus' children Lelantos, Leto, and Asteria; Iapetus' sons Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius; Oceanus' daughter Metis ("Wisdom"); and Crius' sons Astraeus, Pallas (killed by Athena), and Perses.
Tlahuizcalpanteuctli is the Mexican god of the morning star and the Lord of the Dawn. His similarities to Attar/Ishtar/Lucifer are striking.
Tlaloc is a Mexican storm god.
Tlazolteotl ("Lady of Lechery") is a Mexican goddess of sexual immorality.
Tonantzin is a Mexican mother goddess who influenced the concept of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
The Trance is the method a shaman uses to enter the spirit world.
Triptolemus is the Greek god who taught mankind agriculture.
Triton is the son of Poseidon and his wife and Poseidon's herald. He wields a trident like his father but is better known for his terrifying horn which he uses to announce the presence of the King of the Sea. He has been known to drown rivals. He has many sons who are also called Tritons.
Trivia is a Roman goddess of sorcery. She was a Titan who helped Jupiter in the Titanomachy and so was allowed to keep her status. She is equated with the Greek Hecate.
Troglodytes are people who live in caves.
Trolls are a specifically Germanic type of supernatural creature. Possibly they represent "wild people" who have not had contact with civilization. They are said to live in the Iron Wood to the east, suggesting a connection to Finns or Slavs. See Skáldskaparmál of the Prose Edda.
Trophonius (Τροφώνιος, "Nourisher") was a cthonic Greek hero or daimon or god—it was never certain which one—with a rich mythological tradition and an oracular cult at Lebadaea in Boeotia.
Tsui-goab ("Wounded Knee") is the name of the Khoisan creator god.
Tsukuyomi is the Shinto moon god. He was married to his sister Amaterasu, the sun goddess, until he killed the food goddess and she divorced him. This is why the Sun and Moon are rarely seen together. Susanoo, god of the storm, is also his brother.
Tuisto is the legendary ancestor of all the Nordic people. He is considered a god.
Tuonela is the Finnish Underworld.
Tuoni is the Finnish death god and father of Loviatar.
Tuonetar is the Finnish goddess of the underworld and mother of Loviatar.
Tupilaqs are Inuit constructs made of sewn together animal parts (and sometimes people parts) and sent to destroy an enemy.
Tûrêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Tyr the One Handed is the Nordic name for the Heavenly Father. Tuesday is named after him.
Tyrfing is a Nordic legendary sword with a golden hilt that would never miss a stroke, would never rust and would cut through stone and iron as easily as through clothes. The dwarves made the sword, and it shone and gleamed like fire. However, in revenge they cursed it so that it would kill a man every time it was used and that it would be the cause of three great evils. They also cursed it so that it would kill Svafrlami himself. It would cost the life of not only Svafrlami, but also the life of the Swedish hero Hjalmar.
Tzitzimimeh are Mexican star goddesses.
Ulfserkers ("Wolf Shirts") were elite Nordic warriors similar to Berserkers.
Unclean Spirits are mentioned in the Bible,
Undines are the Water Elementals in Renaissance mysticism.
The Unicorn ("One Horn") is a legendary animal possibly originally based on the rhinoceros.
Uranus is the Greek sky-god who was castrated by his son Cronus. In Genesis he is the "Firmament".
Urcaguary is the Incan god of buried treasure and wealth. He is very similar to Pluto.
Uriel is referred to as one of the five angels who lead the souls of men to judgement in the Sibylline Oracles.
Urquchillay is the Incan god of animals.
The Well of Uror is found beneath the root of the World Tree Yggdrasil in the land of the Aesir. The Norns tend this well.
Ushi-oni are Japanese minotaur-like creatures.
Valac is sixty second entry in the Ars Goetia. He is a Great President of Hell, having thirty legions of demons under his command. Valac is said to give true answers about hidden treasures; he reveals where serpents can be seen, and delivers them harmless to the magician. He is said to appear as a small poor boy with angel wings riding on a two-headed dragon.
Duke Valefar (or Malaphar, Malephar, Valafar, Valefor) is a Duke of Hell and the sixth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He tempts people to steal and is in charge of a good relationship among thieves. Valefar is considered a good familiar by his associates "till they are caught in the trap." He commands ten legions of demons. He is represented as a lion with the head of a man, or as a lion with the head of a donkey.
Valkyries are female Nordic battle spirits who are said to choose who gets killed in battle.
Vampires are a Slavic form of undead. In most cases, vampires are revenants of evil beings, suicide victims, or Slavic "witches", but they can also be created by a malevolent spirit possessing a corpse or by being bitten by a vampire. Vlad Dracul the Impaler of Romania is often said to be a vampire. He inspired the modern stories about Dracula. In legend he became a vampire in order to get the power to hold back the Ottoman Turks who had just taken Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul.
Vanaheim is the homeland of the Vanir.
Vanir are one of the two groups of gods in Germanic mythology associated with fertility, wisdom and the ability to see the future. It is possible their name came from the Vandals.
Vapula, the sixtieth entry in the Ars Goetia, is a powerful Great Duke of Hell that commands thirty-six legions of demons. He teaches Philosophy, Mechanics, and sciences. Vapula is depicted as a griffin-winged lion.
Varuna is the Vedic (Hindu) god of the ocean. He rides on a Makara.
Prince Vassago is the third Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He is a mighty Prince of Hell, ruling over twenty-six legions of demons. He can be persuaded to tell the magician of events past and future, can discover hidden and lost things, and has a "good" nature.
Ve ("Shrine") is the youngest brother of Odin.
Vegvísir('sign post') is an Icelandic 'magical stave' intended to help the bearer find his/her way through rough weather. The symbol is attested in the Huld Manuscript, collected in Iceland by Geir Vigfusson in 1860
Veles is the Russian god of dragons, serpents, peasants, nomads and lowlands.
Venus is the Roman goddess of erotic love. The "female" symbol is a stylized version of her hand mirror.
Vepar is the forty second Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. She is a strong Great Duke of Hell, and rules twenty-nine legions of demons. She governs the waters and guides armoured ships laden with ammunition and weapons; she can also make, if requested, the sea rough and stormy, and to appear full of ships. Vepar can make men die in three days by putrefying sores and wounds, causing worms to breed in them, but if requested by the conjurer she can heal them immediately. Vepar is depicted as a mermaid.
Verethragna is a Sassanid god of victory. Possibly the First Horseman of the Apocalypse.
Veri Selen ("Fire Snake") is a Chuvash dragon.
The Very Black Witch was killed by King Arthur using his dagger.
Vili ("Will") is a Nordic god and brother of Odin.
Vine is an Earl and also a King of Hell, commanding 36 legions of demons. He is the forty fifth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. He can tell present, past and future, discover witches and hidden things, create storms and make the water rough by means of them, and also bring down walls and build towers. This demon is portrayed as a lion holding a snake in his hand and riding a black horse.
Viracocha ("Sea Foam") is the Incan creator god.
Vishnu is a major Hindu god known as the Preserver. He is usually described as having dark complexion of water-filled clouds and as having four arms. He is a blue man, holding a padma (lotus flower) in the lower left hand, the Kaumodaki gada (mace) in the lower right hand, the Panchajanya shankha (conch) in the upper left hand and the discus weapon Sudarshana Chakra in the upper right hand. Adherents of Hinduism believe Vishnu's eternal and supreme abode beyond the material universe is called Vaikuntha, which is also known as Paramdhama, the realm of eternal bliss and happiness and the final or highest place for liberated souls who have attained Moksha. Vaikuntha is situated beyond the material universe and hence, cannot be perceived or measured by material science or logic. Vishnu's other abode within the material universe is Ksheera Sagara (the ocean of milk), where he reclines and rests on Ananta Shesha, (the king of the serpent deities, commonly shown with a thousand heads). In almost all Hindu denominations, Vishnu is either worshipped directly or in the form of his ten avatars, the most famous of whom are Rama and Krishna.
Vishvakarma is the Hindu god of craftsmanship.
Volkovoy are Slavic pagan priests and wonder workers.
The Völsunga saga is an important Nordic saga.
Volur ("Wand Carriers") are female Nordic shamanistic seers. Their supernatural methods are known as seiðr, spá and galdr. Freyja is their patron goddess.
Völuspá is the first poem in the Poetic Edda. In it a Volva instructs Odin about ancient lore. She says she remembers Jotunn born in antiquity who reared her. She then goes on to relate a creation myth and mentions Ymir; the world was empty until the sons of Burr lifted the earth out of the sea. The Æsir then established order in the cosmos by finding places for the sun, the moon and the stars, thereby starting the cycle of day and night. A golden age ensued where the Æsir had plenty of gold and happily constructed temples and made tools. But then three mighty Jotunn maidens came from Jötunheimr and the golden age came to an end. The Æsir then created the "dwarves" (dvergar?), of whom Mótsognir and Durinn are the mightiest. At this point ten of the poem's stanzas are over and six stanzas ensue which contain names of dwarves. This section, sometimes called "Dvergatal" ("Catalogue of Dwarves"), is usually considered an interpolation and sometimes omitted by editors and translators. After the "Dvergatal", the creation of the first man and woman are recounted and Yggdrasill, the world-tree, is described. The seer recalls the burning of Gullveig that led to the first "folk" war, and what occurred in the struggle between the Æsir and Vanir. She then recalls the time Freyja was given to the Jotunn. The seeress then reveals to Odin that she knows some of his own secrets, and that he sacrificed an eye in pursuit of knowledge. She tells him she knows where his eye is hidden and how he gave it up in exchange for knowledge. She asks him in several refrains if he understands, or if he would like to hear more. The seeress goes on to describe the slaying of Baldr, best and fairest of the gods and the enmity of Loki, and of others. Then she prophesies the destruction of the gods where fire and flood overwhelm heaven and earth as the gods fight their final battles with their enemies. This is the "fate of the gods" - Ragnarök. She describes the summons to battle, the deaths of many of the gods and how Odin, himself, is slain by Fenrir, the great wolf. Thor, the god of thunder and sworn protector of the earth, faces Jörmungandr, the world serpent, and wins but Thor is only able to take nine steps afterward before collapsing. Víðarr faces Fenrir and kicks his jaw open before stabbing the wolf in the heart with his spear. The god Freyr fights the Fire Jotunn Surtr, who wields a fiery sword that shines brighter than the sun, and Freyr falls. Finally a beautiful reborn world will rise from the ashes of death and destruction where Baldr and Höðr will live again in a new world where the earth sprouts abundance without sowing seed. The surviving Æsir reunite with Hœnir and meet together at the field of Iðavöllr, discussing Jörmungandr, great events of the past, and the runic alphabet. A final stanza describes the sudden appearance of Nidhogg the dragon, bearing corpses in his wings, before the seeress emerges from her trance.
Voudou is a Black African (i.e. Niger-Congo) religion. It is not the scary Bokor tradition which curses people and makes Zombies but Voudou usually gets blamed for what Bokors do. Voudou uses lots of gris-gris talismans.
Vritra is a Hindu dragon and Asura which is the personification of drought. It drank the river dry until Indra slew it with a thunderbolt.
Vual is the forty seventh Demon listed in the Ars Goetia and a mighty Great Duke of Hell, commanding thirty-seven legions of demons. He gives the love of women, causes friendship between friends and foes, and tells things past, present and to come. Vual is depicted as a dromedary that after a while changes shape into a man, and speaks the Egyptian language, but not perfectly, with a deep voice.
Vulcan is the Roman name for the god the Greeks call Hephaestus.
Wadd ("Love and Friendship") is a Minaean moon god mentioned in Quran 71:23.
Wadj-wer is an Egyptian fertility water god.
Wands were used by Germanic people to carve runes into. Each wand acted like a sheet of paper.
Wanyūdō is, in Japanese mythology, said to take the form of a burning oxcart wheel bearing the tormented face of a man.
Warlock is a Germanic word which usually means "oath-breaker". Perhaps Warlocks and Orcs/Ogres are the same or at least related. However the word may also mean "spirit-singer". Scotland is said to have many Warlocks.
Watchers are a type of angel mention in the Books of Enoch and Daniel. In Daniel they are "Holy Ones", but in Enoch they are the fathers of the Nephilim.
Water Mama is an African water goddess.
Wayland is a legendary English smith.
Wendigo are man-beasts of indigenous Canadian mythology. They may be similar to Latin Ogres.
Werewolves are men who can change into wolves.
The White Wyvern is the symbol for the Anglo Saxons. It attacked Y Ddraig Goch and caused it to shriek in agony.
The Wind Eagle sits on top of Yggdrasil in Nordic legend. It seems to be similar to the Thunderbird and the Roc.
Wight is a Middle English word that means "person". There is no historical connection to the undead. The creatures known as "barrow-wights" in Tolkein's fiction were probably based on Draugs.
Witches are Germanic users of supernatural power. "Flying" was done by means of a drug filled ointment they applied before running naked (skyclad) to meetings which gave them a hallucination of flight. "Riding the broom" may refer to a sexual act used to achieve a mystical state of ecstacy.
Wizards are Germanic Wise Men. Their name does not refer to a particular type of mystical tradition or divination technique. However as Germanic mystics they are likely to be proficient with Rune Magic and familiar with Asatru.
Woad is a thick blue paint that Celtic warriors covered themselves with before battle. It may have served to seal wounds and prevent bleeding.
The Wolf is the symbol of the Mongols.
World Trees are very common symbols in legends around the world. A well known example is Yggdrasil of Norse myth.
Worm Hill in Britain is said to have a dragon living in caves beneath it.
Wraiths are Scottish spirits.
Wyrm is a Nordic name for a dragon.
Wyverns are dragonlike creatures with only two legs.
Xanthos is one of two immortal horses owned first by the hero Peleus and then by his son Achilles.
Xipe Totec ("The Flayed Lord") is a Mexican life-death-rebirth god.
Xochiquetzal is the Mexican goddess of hedonism and sex.
Xolotl is a Mexican god of lightning, destruction and death.
Xiuhtecuhtli is a Mexican fire god.
Y Ddraig Goch is the Red Dragon of Wales. It's pained shrieking was the Second Plague during the reign of King Ludd of Britain. The shriek ended pregnancies and had other effects. It was crying out because it was being attacked by the White Wyvern of England. The legendary solution was to get both dragons drunk on mead and then bury them in a stone coffin.
Yaghuth ("He Helps") is a Semitic god mentioned in Quran 71:23.
Yahoo is one way that YH is pronounced. However, it (or Yowie, or Wowie) is also the name of a manlike spirit from Australia which has long white hair hanging down from the head over the features ... the arms are extraordinarily long, furnished at the extremities with great talons, and the feet turned backwards, so that, on flying from man, the imprint of the foot appears as if the being had traveled in the opposite direction.
Yama is a Hindu and Buddhist god of the dead., Yama is the lokapala ("Guardian of the Directions") of the south. Three hymns (10, 14, and 35) in the 10th book of the Rig Veda are addressed to him. He has two dogs with four eyes and wide nostrils guarding the road to his abode. They are said to wander about among people as his messengers. Yama is depicted with blue skin and red clothes and rides a water buffalo. He holds a loop of rope in his left hand with which he pulls the soul from the corpse.
Yama-no-kami are Japanese earth spirits. The males are spirits of the mountains and the females are spirits of agriculture.
Yamata no Orochi was an eight headed serpent or dragon in Japanese legend. He was slain by the Shinto storm god Susanoo. First each head was given alcohol to incapacitate it.
Yasakani no Magatama is the Imperial Jewel of Japan; one of the three Imperial Japanese treasures. It represents the inherited strength and authority of the Japanese Emperor.
Yata no Kagami ("Eight-Handed Mirror") is one of the three Japanese Imperial Treasures. When the sun goddess, after a fight with the storm god, hid in a cave and refused to light the world, this mirror, which showed her how strong and glorious she was, helped persuade her to come out.
Yatudhanas are monstrous Hindu spirits which consume human flesh. Rakshasas are a type of Yatudhana.
Ya'uq is a Semitic god mentioned in Quran 71:23.
The Yellow Dragon is the symbol of the Chinese Emperor. It is the only Asian dragon with five toes on each foot.
Yeqon was the Watcher ringleader who first tempted the other Watchers into having sexual relations with humans. His accomplices were Asbeel, Gadreel, Penemue, and Kasdaye (or Kasadya), who were all identified as individual "satans".
Yetis are bestial ape-men of the Himalayas.
Yggdrasil is the Nordic World Tree.
YH (Yah) is said to be the name of God.
YHWH is the "tetragrammaton" - the four letters Moses saw.
Ymir is the Germanic personification of the glaciers that covered northern Europe during the last Ice Age.
Yog Sothoth in H.P. Lovecraft's fictional Egyptian deity whose name means "the Union of Set and Thoth".
Yokai are Japanese supernatural spirits.
Yuggoth is H.P. Lovecraft's fantasy name for the planetoid Pluto.
Yum-Kax is a Mayan maize god.
Yurai are Japanese ghosts.
Yurugu is a Dogon (West African) god.
Yuxa are a type of Tatar dragon.
Zagan, sixty first entry in the Ars Goetia, is a Great King and President of Hell, commanding over thirty-three legions of demons. He makes men witty and fools wise; he can also turn wine into water, water into wine, blood into oil, oil into blood, and blood into wine. Zagan can also shape metals into coins. Zagan is depicted as a griffin-winged bull that turns into a man after a while.
Zahhak is an evil Persian dragon-god.
Zaqîêl is one of the "Chiefs of Tens" of the Watchers (Enoch 7-8).
Zealots were a tribe of Jewish fanatics that committed suicide at the Masada fortress rather than be enslaved to Rome.
Zepar is the sixteenth Demon listed in the Ars Goetia. he is a Great Duke of Hell who commands 26 legions of inferior spirits. His office is to cause women to love men, and bring them together in love. He makes women barren. He is depicted with red clothes and armor, like a soldier.
Zephyrus is the Greek god of the west wind.
Zhulong, or 'torch dragon', is a Chinese solar dragon deity. It has a human's face and snake's body, creates day and night by opening and closing its eyes, and creates seasonal winds by breathing.
Ziz is a giant bird in Jewish legend - the archetype of creatures of the air.
Zohar is a book or tradition of Jewish Theurgy, related to Kabbalah.
Zombies are living people who have been modified by a Bokor. Datura is given to suppress the spirit (personality) while the body and soul are still present. The spirit is still active enough to animate the body but has had free will suppressed with the Datura and brainwashing. The body is also suppressed through the use of puffer-fish nerve poison. This causes the rotting flesh and awkward gait. Zombies do not need or want brainz they need a doctor and want whatever the Bokor tells them they want. Don't blow them into bits with shotguns if at all possible because they're not dead, or undead. The original person is still inside there...Sometimes mentally ill people are chosen for zombification because their illness makes the process easier.
Zophasemin ("Watchers of Heaven") are egg-like divine entities mentioned by Philo of Byblos.
3/26/11
I've always been very harsh about religion. I grew up an angry atheist because of the willful stupidity and contempt for others I saw in the openly religious individuals in the media and in person. I also saw the intimate connection between culture and religion early on which clashed with religions' claims to be universal. My views on religion were and are in a sense Lovecraftian, as is clearly seen in my choice of handle (online name). Lovecraft, in his stories, described a twisted fertility god - Shub-Niggurath, the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young, and I have taken it's title as my name. This has to to with my sadness and anger about the existence of the vast masses of impoverished people who live "the crazy life", breeding and breeding, and the children growing up in poverty and misery, turning into vast hordes of monstrous people...
However as I've matured I've seen religion in a new light. I have been thinking about the people behind the images; what was it about Jesus, and Muhammed, and Siddhartha, etc. that made people idealize them so? I, like all people, have an innate sense of good and evil, right and wrong, justice and injustice. There are feelings and states of mind that are virtuous, and some that are sinful, or whatever you want to call the concepts.
I think religion is a particular culture's attempt to comprehend the universal truths of spirituality, the sense of self which I am beginning to think of as the soul, and the like. These things are real. The specific imagery used by the very first authors in a particular place thousands of years ago I still interpret critically. However I am thinking about this. Maybe it's because I'm starting to think about settling down.
What is it like when we break on through to the other side?
6/1/10
"...healers, or ritual specialists, deliberately force themselves into a trance in which they believe they travel to the spirit world. The visions they experience on these journeys of the mind are terrifying and complex, and the activity itself is undertaken for the good of the community. The Kalahari Bushmen go to the spirit world to entreat with their god for the lives of the sick, to make rain, and to control the movements of the game animals.
In the lightest stages of trance states, all humans have the capacity to see geometric shapes known as form constants. They are hard-wired in the brain. As the trance deepens, and the subject tries to make sense of the shapes, so they change into things which are governed by that person's particular culture. The geometries are found all over the world and throughout history. Coupled to this are experiences such as changing into animals: the rock art traditions of hunter-gatherers the world over — including Ice Age Europe — contain images of figures which are half human and half animal . Going into deep caves is likened to going into a deep trance. Some images in France and Spain are over 1 km into the caves. Native Americans would call this 'Vision Questing' — going to barely accessible places such as mountain tops to perform rock art making, the images likely derived from visions they had experienced at special ceremonies."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushmen
5/25/10
"After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, the cult of death diminished but was never eradicated. John Thompson of the University of Arizona's Southwest Center has found references dating to 18th century Mexico. According to one account, indigenous people tied up a skeletal figure and threatened it with lashings if it did not perform miracles or grant their wishes."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Muerte
5/16/10
There's a new spirit in my room. It is bigger than the laundry demon; it fills the whole room, and it is strong, but diffuse. I await it's coming with bright anticipation. It is tied to the clock and amphatamines through the power of the sun!
I can rise with the sun, Apollo
If I lay down at night, Apollo
Apollo's name means the Destroyer. I don't know why but it fits in with the fact that the indiginous people know the Sun as a war god - Huitzilopochtli.
Apollo is not the diffuse spirit in my room, however. That spirit, though strong, is much less than the sun. It only hopes to channel a tiny fraction of the sun's power.
5/3/10
Celts had a reputation as head hunters. According to Paul Jacobsthal, "Amongst the Celts the human head was venerated above all else, since the head was to the Celt the soul, centre of the emotions as well as of life itself, a symbol of divinity and of the powers of the other-world."[62] Arguments for a Celtic cult of the severed head include the many sculptured representations of severed heads in La Tène carvings, and the surviving Celtic mythology, which is full of stories of the severed heads of heroes and the saints who carry their decapitated heads, right down to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where the Green Knight picks up his own severed head after Gawain has struck it off, just as St. Denis carried his head to the top of Montmartre.
A further example of this regeneration after beheading lies in the tales of Connemara's St. Feichin, who after being beheaded by Viking pirates carried his head to the Holy Well on Omey Island and on dipping the head into the well placed it back upon his neck and was restored to full health.
Diodorus Siculus, in his 1st century History had this to say about Celtic head-hunting:
They cut off the heads of enemies slain in battle and attach them to the necks of their horses. The blood-stained spoils they hand over to their attendants and striking up a paean and singing a song of victory; and they nail up these first fruits upon their houses, just as do those who lay low wild animals in certain kinds of hunting. They embalm in cedar oil the heads of the most distinguished enemies, and preserve them carefully in a chest, and display them with pride to strangers, saying that for this head one of their ancestors, or his father, or the man himself, refused the offer of a large sum of money. They say that some of them boast that they refused the weight of the head in gold
In Gods and Fighting Men, Lady Gregory's Celtic Revival translation of Irish mythology, heads of men killed in battle are described in the beginning of the story The Fight With The Fir Bolgs as pleasing to Macha, one aspect of the war goddess Morrigu.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celts
4/26/10
Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. - Proverb
The business week begins Monday. Monday begins at about 8 pm Sunday and ends 8 pm Monday. Shifting time in this manner summons health and wealth. Wisdom I am uncertain about.
The first task of the business day is to get a good night's sleep. In order to do that no caffeine should be ingested. Then sleep from ~10 pm until ~6 am. Witnessing dawn is good luck. Witnessing midnight is bad luck. 6-7 get up, assume professional state, begin business...
Shifting time consciously in this manner can be very difficult for those weak of will!
I have just glimpsed Antelope. I have complex relations with Eagle. Long ago I saw Panther but she was indifferent. And of course, Cat has been my friend, my sibling, my child since as far back as I can remember.
The Tongva use some sort of bean filled gourd as a rattle. They wear shell necklaces. Sage and Tobacco are sacred plants. Walnut is the staple food. They navigate the sea in boats. Their indiginous religion seems to be monotheistic.
4/19/10
I know spells the change money into inner peace via a ward against malignancy, but they are difficult. My ability to use these spells is very inefficient currently. I need to refine it until the power of my spells is greater than the malignant powers at all times.
Original Post -
Chaos magic, the magic of the nonmagical, the supernatural power and religion of the atheist. It is the sorcery of doublethink, mystical control of minds and emotions, turning fists to stone, divinations, wards against and perception of malignant spirits.
There is one such spirit that haunts my room. He's a fat little red devil; kind of like Jabba the hut, but he has chubby little baby legs. He's a demon of disorder and laziness, and is burned by housecleaning. He likes to sit on my laundry and smirk, drool dripping from his lips onto my used socks.
Sage is a powerful ward against malignant powers. I have some but the time is not right. The ritual must be greater than the sage alone.
Mercury, master of magic, money and medicine, Hermes Trismegistus, who stepped from Italy to Spain to Latin America as part of the Latin culture (but always hidden, because YHWH is a jealous god), is a god I visualize and meditate to.
(inhaling) I can get work, Mercury
(exhaling) if I work at it, Mercury
Fluorite is a stone that brings focus and concentration.
The Bear, the Tiger, the Lion are known to me.
EDIT 3/29/10
432 is a powerful number:
432 sum of four consecutive primes (103 + 107 + 109 + 113), a highly totient number, sum of totient function for first 37 integers and a Harshad number. 42 x 33= 33 x 24 =432. 432 is also three-dozen sets of a dozen, making it three gross.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/432_(number)#430s
Music & 432
* 432 times 432 = 186624 the classic speed of light is 186400 miles/second, a difference of .001201.
* E=mc2 ---Einstein's famous equation of energy and matter - - where E= energy, m = matter, and c = the universal constant speed of light.
The speed of light in 1983 was generally accepted to be 186,291 miles per second in a vacuum so 432 as the square root of the speed of light should only experience the usual suspects as skeptics. This number converted by the pyramid inch is 186,496. ( 186,291 [accepted speed of light in a vacuum per 1983 agreement] x 1.0011)
A line showing the speed of light on a scale model of Earth and the Moon, about 1.2 seconds.
The distance from the center of the earth to the average height of the atmosphere. This value is given as 4320 arc-minutes, which harmonically can be reduce down to 432 the fundamental vibration for the sixth node in the octave
A line showing the speed of light on a scale model of Earth and the Moon, about 1.2 seconds.
The archaic Egyptian instruments that have been unearthed, so far, are largely tuned to 432 hz. In ancient Greece (the school book original place for music) their instruments were predominantly tuned at 432 hz. Within the archaic Greek Eleusenian Mysteries, Orpheus is the god of music, death and rebirth, and was the keeper of the Ambrosia and the music of transformation (his instruments were tuned at 432 hz).
zeeblebot
http://www.playtheimmortalgame.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=128142
See also
http://www.carnaval.com/music432/
4/27/15
I was offered a fantastic job on Christmas Eve by a man who mentioned God.
12/1/14
I'm having a bad day and getting scared and anxious. Mild anxiety attack over ANOTHER stupid, avoidable problem situation. Nothing to say to anyone in the sense of asking for counsel. They'd either tell me to stop whining and take whatever problems occur like a man, stoically...and to stop being stupid. And they'd be right.
So I walked to the Church. I found an open door and went in and sat down and I cried a little bit. Then I left.
10/28/14
I've been wanting to go to Church lately. I've never gone except for the occasional funeral or baptism.
11/9/13
SCHOOLS OF MYSTICAL POWER
Alchemy - this is the Western tradition which originated in Hellenistic Egypt with Mary the Jewess sometime between 100-300 CE. Similar traditions existed in China and India. Distillation was one of the earliest techniques known. Heating substances and collecting vapors was another. Potions were sometimes made using urine as a solvent.
Alchemical formula - creation of flammable liquids.
Alchemical formula - creation of caustic acids and bases.
Alchemical formula - creation/detection/neutralization of poisons.
Alchemical formula - scrolls and books.
Alchemical formula - creation of intoxicants.
Alchemical formula - gunpowder (Chinese).
Alchemical legendary formula - Philosopher's Stone, turns lead to gold
Alchemy Legend - Hercules' wife Deineira gets a "love potion" from a sorceress and gives it to him, poisoning him.
Automation - The manufacture and use of complex mechanical devices. Also known as Mathematics.
Automation formula - Brazen head
Automation formula - Brazen Bull - fiery device of horrible execution.
Automation formula - pre-programmed motions of statues
Automation formula - traps
Automation legend - Talos, animated bronze statue who guarded the harbor of Crete
Automation legend - Colchian Bulls, fire breathing animated robot bulls
Druidism - Traditional Celtic religion and wonder working.
Druid formula - Call down fire
Druid formula - Sacrifice wicker man
Druid formula - shapeshift to animal
Druid formula - invisibility
Druid formula - conjure darkness
Druid formula - cause sleep (Lludd and Llefelys, the Third Plague)
Druid formula - survive beheading (various legends including Green Knight)
Magic - Persian mysticism based on stargazing.
Magic formula - read stars for divination purposes.
Magic formula - flight (Simon Magus)
Shamanism - North Asian spirit magic. Also found in North America. Possibly the same as south African Khoisan religious tradition.
Shaman Formula - Go into trance (Khoisan) - this implies a sharp conceptual distinction between the material world and the "spirit world". The trance allows the shaman to interact with spirits which themselves have powers, and thus indirectly cause magical results. Unfortunately the shaman is physically unconscious or otherwise "blind" to the material world during this time.
Shaman Formula - Discover your Fetch (allied animal spirit)
Shaman Formula - Cure illnesses via spirits
Shaman Formula - Control the movements of game animals (possibly other animals as well) via spirits
Shaman Formula - Change the weather via spirits
Sorcery - Traditional Roman divination.
Sorcery formula - Father or priest casts lots and interprets them based on a reference text.
Sorcery formula - Scrolls and books.
Sorcery formula - Evocation - Placate, dominate or neutralize local gods so that conquest can succeed.
Sorcery formula - crucifiction, a sacrifice to Mars.
Sorcery formula - Necromancy - speaking with the spirits of the dead.
Sorcery formula - Gazing into air, earth, fire or water for divination.
Sorcery formula - palm reading
Sorcery formula - reading cracks in a heated shoulder bone of a slaughtered animal.
Sorcery formula - prepare homonculus from semen
Sorcery formula - Engrave a curse on a lead tablet and bury it
Sorcery formula - Love Pyre of Dido - from Book IV of the Aeneid - cast by Queen Dido of Carthage and enhanced and warped by her suicide into a powerful curse against Rome. North African spell.
Sorcery legendary formula - Curse of Circe - turn a man into a pig.
Sorcery legendary formula - Medea's Calling of the Serpent - Medea could call down the Serpent constellation to Earth.
Thaumaturgy - Calling on God or gods to perform miracles.
Thaumaturgy formula - banish darkness (St Patrick)
Thaumaturgy formula - Sticks to Snakes (Aaron)
Thaumaturgy formula - call down fire (Elijah, Moses - related to alchemy?)
Thaumaturgy formula - plague of frogs (Moses)
Thaumaturgy formula - plague of locusts (Moses)
Thaumaturgy formula - conjure darkness (Moses)
Thaumaturgy formula - water to blood (Moses)
Thaumaturgy formula - dispel flight (Simon Magus)
Thaumaturgy formula - martyrdom
Thaumaturgy formula - laying on of hands (St Peter).
Thaumaturgy formula - Prevent/disperse storms or eclipses so the sun may shine (Bremner-Rhine papyrus)
Thaumaturgy formula - create Brass Serpent, which can cure and/or prevent poison (Moses)
Thaumaturgy formula - open up the ground to swallow sinners, after which the ground closes (Moses vs Dathan and Abiram)
Thaumaturgy Legend - Ressurection (e.g. Lazarus)
Thaumaturgy formula - Lorica - Prayer for protection
Theurgy - Sacred tradition of Abrahamic spirit magic. Includes Practical Kaballah and Goetia.
Theurgy formula - animate or deactivate a golem.
Theurgy formula - exorcism.
Theurgy formula - create amulet.
Theurgy formula - Summon the spirits in the Ars Goetia.
Theurgy legendary artifact - Michael's Ring - commands Angel-like Demons.
Theurgy formula - teleportation (Great Duke Bathin)
Theurgy formula - Invisibility (King Bael, Glasya-Labolas)
Theurgy formula - light things on fire (Great Duke Aim)
Witchery/Wizardry - Germanic mystical wisdom. Rune magic. Asatru, or Germanic pagan religion - worship of Thor and Odin - probably was associated with Wizardry.
Wizardry formula - using a knife (seax), cut branch from tree. Split the branch and carve runes into the branches (wands) and then cast them on to the ground and read them for divination purposes.
Wizardry formula - Carve runes into wands.
Wizardry formula - Forge rune-inscribed weapons, for example, Tyr rune for victory
Wizardry formula - Release warriors from what holds them
Wizardry formula - Heal a horse's leg. Might work on people?
Wizardry formula - Enchant Runestone. Runestones provide an "aura" of sorts over an area. They are boulders which are rooted in the bedrock and engraved with runes.
Wizardry formula - Blood Eagle sacrifice.
Wizardry legend - Rune that brings the dead back to life, known by Odin.
Wizardry formula - Charm to stop bees from swarming.
Wizardry formula - Make and use poppet ("voodoo dolls")
Wizardry formula - Curse via Nithing Pole
Wizardry Formula - Metrical charms
Voodoo/Bokor - West African mystical traditions. Bokor is the more frightening side of the tradition.
Voodoo formula - Zombification.
Voodoo formula - gris-gris amulets.
Voodoo formula - Prepare zombi astral (imprisoned spirit)
Voodoo formula - Curse a slave if s/he tries to escape
10/1/13
I look up at the daylit sky and begin to see God.
God, known to my people as Dyeus, is a personality which is inferred from what people observe. This is true of all gods and spirits.
Heaven is just another word for Sky. We can see the sky. It's blue and emits a gently light, illuminating the land. No matter where you go, there it is, shining down on you. That is the sight we humans have evolved to see.
Yes, sometimes it is night. That is when Heaven wants us to sleep. Monsters and sinful people operate at night.
Civilization with it's indoor and underground spaces is unnatural. Heaven has always been there and always will.
We can see Heaven. It is a dome-like ceiling. It is the Firmament that separates waters from waters. It is Uranus the castrated Titan, whose grandson is Dyeus. The waters above are what makes the sky blue. This is what the ancients believed. What else is blue like that? It must be an ocean up there.
But astronauts have been up there. There is no Sky. There is no Heaven. There is no Firmament, no waters above. Rain is caused by the water cycle, not cracks in the Firmament.
Even though we can see it, it isn't there. Heaven transcends physical reality. It exists in the mind of the observer. So does Dyeus.
Arabs know Dyeus as Allah. Jews say his name is YHWH but call him Adonai. It is said he has many names.
When sin is committed, somehow, sometime, it will come to light, and justice will be served.
Dyeus is not infinely good in the philosophical sense. He is just. When justice came to the Nazis and Imperial Japanese, they learned that God's justice is greater than any one man.
But God allowed the atrocities to take place, and justice does not always come. There are other gods. Dyeus is not infinitely powerful; he is more powerful than all other gods. In the end justice wins, overall. But only slowly and awkwardly and on the population scale. Dyeus is too important to bother with every minor injustice. He is far off, high, aloof...but when the Father comes to punish the disobedient no power on Earth can stop him.
Some people call them gods. Some call them spirits, or djinn, or angels, or saints. There are many. But which of them can defeat Heaven? Even if a Sweet Meteor of Doom obliterated the planet Earth...well...the SMoD came from Heaven, didn't it? And did it hit Heaven? Nope...
Taeguk Il Jang is the first of eight Taekwondo forms dedicated to the trigrams of the I Ching. Even though Heaven is usually considered female in Chinese culture, Taeguk Il Jang is also associated with the Father.
============
Is there a "soul particle" defined at least in part by location? Stephen Hawking says he thinks the human mind could with sophisticated enough technology be uploaded to a computer. Would that be the same person? If you dematerialize and rematerialize a person, is it the same person? What if you materialize the same person without dematerializing the original? Which is the "real" person? A soul particle might reincarnate.
Sorcery formula - Father or priest casts lots and interprets them based on a reference text.
Sorcery formula - Scrolls and books.
Sorcery formula - Evocation - Placate, dominate or neutralize local gods so that conquest can succeed.
Sorcery formula - crucifiction, a sacrifice to Mars.
Sorcery formula - Necromancy - speaking with the spirits of the dead.
Sorcery formula - Gazing into air, earth, fire or water for divination.
Sorcery formula - palm reading
Sorcery formula - reading cracks in a heated shoulder bone of a slaughtered animal.
Sorcery formula - prepare homonculus from semen
Sorcery formula - Engrave a curse on a lead tablet and bury it
Sorcery formula - Love Pyre of Dido - from Book IV of the Aeneid - cast by Queen Dido of Carthage and enhanced and warped by her suicide into a powerful curse against Rome. North African spell.
Sorcery legendary formula - Curse of Circe - turn a man into a pig.
Sorcery legendary formula - Medea's Calling of the Serpent - Medea could call down the Serpent constellation to Earth.
Thaumaturgy - Calling on God or gods to perform miracles.
Thaumaturgy formula - banish darkness (St Patrick)
Thaumaturgy formula - Sticks to Snakes (Aaron)
Thaumaturgy formula - call down fire (Elijah, Moses - related to alchemy?)
Thaumaturgy formula - plague of frogs (Moses)
Thaumaturgy formula - plague of locusts (Moses)
Thaumaturgy formula - conjure darkness (Moses)
Thaumaturgy formula - water to blood (Moses)
Thaumaturgy formula - dispel flight (Simon Magus)
Thaumaturgy formula - martyrdom
Thaumaturgy formula - laying on of hands (St Peter).
Thaumaturgy formula - Prevent/disperse storms or eclipses so the sun may shine (Bremner-Rhine papyrus)
Thaumaturgy formula - create Brass Serpent, which can cure and/or prevent poison (Moses)
Thaumaturgy formula - open up the ground to swallow sinners, after which the ground closes (Moses vs Dathan and Abiram)
Thaumaturgy Legend - Ressurection (e.g. Lazarus)
Thaumaturgy formula - Lorica - Prayer for protection
Theurgy - Sacred tradition of Abrahamic spirit magic. Includes Practical Kaballah and Goetia.
Theurgy formula - animate or deactivate a golem.
Theurgy formula - exorcism.
Theurgy formula - create amulet.
Theurgy formula - Summon the spirits in the Ars Goetia.
Theurgy legendary artifact - Michael's Ring - commands Angel-like Demons.
Theurgy formula - teleportation (Great Duke Bathin)
Theurgy formula - Invisibility (King Bael, Glasya-Labolas)
Theurgy formula - light things on fire (Great Duke Aim)
Witchery/Wizardry - Germanic mystical wisdom. Rune magic. Asatru, or Germanic pagan religion - worship of Thor and Odin - probably was associated with Wizardry.
Wizardry formula - using a knife (seax), cut branch from tree. Split the branch and carve runes into the branches (wands) and then cast them on to the ground and read them for divination purposes.
Wizardry formula - Carve runes into wands.
Wizardry formula - Forge rune-inscribed weapons, for example, Tyr rune for victory
Wizardry formula - Release warriors from what holds them
Wizardry formula - Heal a horse's leg. Might work on people?
Wizardry formula - Enchant Runestone. Runestones provide an "aura" of sorts over an area. They are boulders which are rooted in the bedrock and engraved with runes.
Wizardry formula - Blood Eagle sacrifice.
Wizardry legend - Rune that brings the dead back to life, known by Odin.
Wizardry formula - Charm to stop bees from swarming.
Wizardry formula - Make and use poppet ("voodoo dolls")
Wizardry formula - Curse via Nithing Pole
Wizardry Formula - Metrical charms
Voodoo/Bokor - West African mystical traditions. Bokor is the more frightening side of the tradition.
Voodoo formula - Zombification.
Voodoo formula - gris-gris amulets.
Voodoo formula - Prepare zombi astral (imprisoned spirit)
Voodoo formula - Curse a slave if s/he tries to escape
10/1/13
I look up at the daylit sky and begin to see God.
God, known to my people as Dyeus, is a personality which is inferred from what people observe. This is true of all gods and spirits.
Heaven is just another word for Sky. We can see the sky. It's blue and emits a gently light, illuminating the land. No matter where you go, there it is, shining down on you. That is the sight we humans have evolved to see.
Yes, sometimes it is night. That is when Heaven wants us to sleep. Monsters and sinful people operate at night.
Civilization with it's indoor and underground spaces is unnatural. Heaven has always been there and always will.
We can see Heaven. It is a dome-like ceiling. It is the Firmament that separates waters from waters. It is Uranus the castrated Titan, whose grandson is Dyeus. The waters above are what makes the sky blue. This is what the ancients believed. What else is blue like that? It must be an ocean up there.
But astronauts have been up there. There is no Sky. There is no Heaven. There is no Firmament, no waters above. Rain is caused by the water cycle, not cracks in the Firmament.
Even though we can see it, it isn't there. Heaven transcends physical reality. It exists in the mind of the observer. So does Dyeus.
Arabs know Dyeus as Allah. Jews say his name is YHWH but call him Adonai. It is said he has many names.
When sin is committed, somehow, sometime, it will come to light, and justice will be served.
Dyeus is not infinely good in the philosophical sense. He is just. When justice came to the Nazis and Imperial Japanese, they learned that God's justice is greater than any one man.
But God allowed the atrocities to take place, and justice does not always come. There are other gods. Dyeus is not infinitely powerful; he is more powerful than all other gods. In the end justice wins, overall. But only slowly and awkwardly and on the population scale. Dyeus is too important to bother with every minor injustice. He is far off, high, aloof...but when the Father comes to punish the disobedient no power on Earth can stop him.
Some people call them gods. Some call them spirits, or djinn, or angels, or saints. There are many. But which of them can defeat Heaven? Even if a Sweet Meteor of Doom obliterated the planet Earth...well...the SMoD came from Heaven, didn't it? And did it hit Heaven? Nope...
Taeguk Il Jang is the first of eight Taekwondo forms dedicated to the trigrams of the I Ching. Even though Heaven is usually considered female in Chinese culture, Taeguk Il Jang is also associated with the Father.
============
Is there a "soul particle" defined at least in part by location? Stephen Hawking says he thinks the human mind could with sophisticated enough technology be uploaded to a computer. Would that be the same person? If you dematerialize and rematerialize a person, is it the same person? What if you materialize the same person without dematerializing the original? Which is the "real" person? A soul particle might reincarnate.
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